A sigh of relief: in five days’ time, the 2026 Superbike World Championship resumes at Magny-Cours

Until 2021, the Superbike World Championship round at Magny-Cours took place at the earliest in late September; now, the final third of the season gets underway at the French circuit on 4 September. According to the latest weather forecast, the riders can expect a summery weekend with temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius.

The full name of the French circuit is ‘Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours’, and it has borne its current name since 1989. The 4.4 km-long circuit is situated in the rural Nièvre department in the Burgundy region, around 250 kilometres south of Paris.

The circuit opened back in 1961 and has been expanded and modernised several times in the years and decades since. Magny-Cours is famous as the venue for the ‘Bol d’Or’, the classic long-distance motorbike race, which was held here until 2014. The Superbike World Championship first visited Magny-Cours in 1991 and has been held there annually since 2003.

Magny-Cours offers a bit of everything. There are various tight corners, three slow hairpin bends and a fast straight. On this technically demanding layout, it is impossible to ride at a natural rhythm. Riders often approach the slowest corners of the entire season at very high speed, sometimes even going downhill. Stability, braking and handling are therefore very important, not only at the end of the back straight, at the entrance to the ‘Adelaide’ hairpin. There, riders brake from 290 km/h down to under 50 km/h. Braking errors and race-deciding manoeuvres are almost inevitable at this point.

One of the track’s distinctive features was its smooth asphalt, which became very slippery in low temperatures or in the rain. In 2020, the circuit was therefore resurfaced and now offers slightly more grip.

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Magny-Cours: 1. Freies Training

FIM Superbike World Championship

04.09.2026 - 10:15

With 21 race wins, Ducati is the most successful manufacturer at Magny-Cours. The most recent victory was secured by Nicolò Bulega in the second race of 2024. Kawasaki has won 14 races to date, Yamaha eleven and BMW four.

Since last year, the most successful Superbike rider at Magny-Cours has been Toprak Razgatlioglu, who celebrated a one-two-three finish on the BMW M1000RR. Jonathan Rea has secured nine victories. He is followed by the iconic Noriyuki Haga with five wins. This year, the victories are likely to go to World Championship leader Bulega.