Magny-Cours, Race 2: Yamaha one-two ahead of ZX Moto in five-lap sprint

Due to the Formula 1 race at Monza, the schedule for the 2026 Superbike World Championship at Magny-Cours was amended for Sunday. The second Supersport race was brought forward and started at 12.40 pm. At the start of the race, the temperature was a pleasant 26 degrees Celsius.

The starting grid for the second race is based on the fastest lap time from Race 1 for the top nine riders. From 10th on the grid, the order is determined by the Superpole results. Rarely has the impact on the grid been as significant as it was at the ninth round of the season.

The biggest beneficiary of this rule was Aldi Mahendra (Yamaha), who moved up from 16th on the grid to second place. Tom Booth-Amos (Triumph) also made a significant leap: instead of starting from 9th place, the Englishman started the race from pole position. Jorge Navarro (Triumph), who is standing in for the injured Oli Bayliss in France, completed the front row.

Superpole winner Valentin Debise (ZX Moto) dropped back to fourth position, whilst Race 1 winner Can Öncü (Yamaha) was lurking in sixth place on the second row. The system introduced in 2024 had little impact on Dominique Aegerter (17th/Kawasaki), Andreas Kofler (30th/Yamaha) and Philipp Öttl (33rd/Ducati).

The opening laps were turbulent and characterised by a three-way battle between Öncü, Arenas and Debise. As the race entered its second half, Booth-Amos, who was running in sixth place, crashed. The Englishman’s Triumph crashed into the airfence at Turn 3, which was damaged by the impact. The race was stopped and restarted with the standings from lap 11, with only five laps remaining. For Aegerter, Kofler and Öttl, this meant starting from 18th, 27th and 28th on the grid respectively, and, given the short distance, only a slim chance of finishing in the points.

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Restart after Booth-Amos crash over just five laps

After the start, the action was intense at the front. The riders took big risks to secure a good position. After the first lap, Öncü led the race ahead of Arenas, Roberto Garcia (Yamaha), Debise, Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki) and Filippo Farioli (Yamaha). At the start of lap 2, the Turkish rider made a mistake and Arenas seized the opportunity. The World Championship leader pulled away by 0.4 seconds from Öncü and Debise, whilst Mahendra, in 6th place, set the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:39.984 minutes.

A crash involving Josh Whatley and Simon Jespersen (both on Ducatis) tore the midfield apart – and propelled Aegerter up to 14th place

Can Öncü’s mistake decides the race

Öncü went into the final lap in the lead, but Garcia was hot on the heels of the 23-year-old. Arenas and Debise followed some way behind. Alcoba (5th), 1.1 seconds adrift, was no longer in a position to win the race.

With just a few corners to go, Öncü missed his braking point at Turn 15 and was forced to take a wide line – Garcia gratefully accepted the invitation and slipped through on the inside, as did Arenas and Debise. Garcia clinched his first victory in the Supersport category, finishing 0.4 seconds ahead of Arenas and Debise. The Spaniard rides for the French team GMT94, where the celebrations knew no bounds.

Öncü and Alcoba rounded off the top five.

Honda, Ducati and QJ Motor also scored World Championship points through Perolari (11th), Alessandro Zaccone and Raffaele De Rosa.

Finishing 15th, Dominique Aegerter claimed the final World Championship point, whilst Philipp Öttl (19th) and Andi Kofler (24th) also scored points.