WE’RE BACK IN ACTION! The 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship returns to racing for round nine and the Pirelli French Round from the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. The historic and iconic French circuit has WorldSBK at the heart of the show and the passion from the thousands of fans is unique on our calendar. Every year, records are shattered, new milestones achieved and more reasons to celebrate founded. This year is no different; check out our super stats below!
197 – Spain has 197 podiums: with three more, they will become the 5th country to reach 200 after the United Kingdom (867), Italy (416), Australia (329) and the United States (262).
100 – With three starts, Axel Bassani will become the 17th rider in history with at least 100 races for Ducati. The record belongs to Chaz Davies at 216. Another rider set to reach 100 for a manufacturer is Andrea Locatelli, now at 97 for Yamaha (record: Noriyuki Haga: 181).
52 – Alvaro Bautista posted his 50th win milestone in Most and now is just two wins shy of the 3rd all-time spot held by Troy Bayliss (52 wins).
46 – 46 podiums for Ducati, a record at Magny-Cours. Kawasaki follows at 31 and Yamaha at 29.
38/20 – Magny-Cours has seen no less than 20 winners and 38 podium finishers out of 46 races.
20 – Great Britain is the most successful country at Magny-Cours with 20 wins. The next best is Turkey at six, all by Toprak Razgatlioglu.
18-1 – Despite being the most successful manufacturer with 18 wins, Ducati has only one Magny-Cours pole: 2003 with James Toseland – his first pole.
16 – In 2019, Toprak Razgatlioglu set a new record for the win from the lowest grid spot at Magny-Cours as he won from 16th, and he did it twice: in Race 1 and in the Tissot Superpole Race.
11-11 – 11 wins came from pole and 11 from the second grid spot, the best grid slots for winning.
10 – After a run of ten British poles at Magny-Cours (2010-2019), Irishman Eugene Laverty stole the top spot in Superpole in 2020. The British record run: Cal Crutchlow (2010), Jonathan Rea (2011, 2016, 2017, 2019), Tom Sykes (2012 to 2014 and 2018), Leon Haslam (2015).
10 – Kawasaki holds the pole record with ten, the last one last year with Rea. That is more than three times the value of its nearest competitors, Yamaha and Honda at three
9/6 – Rea is the most successful rider here with nine wins. Razgatlioglu is next at six and Noriyuki Haga at five. Rea has the most poles of anyone at Magny-Cours with six.
4 – Only one rider was able to climb on the podium here for four different manufacturers: Marco Melandri (Yamaha in 2011, BMW in 2012, Aprilia in 2014 and Ducati in 2017).
1 – One French winner at Magny-Cours: Sylvain Guintoli (2012 Race 1, Ducati; 2014 Race 1, Aprilia).
0.5 – The closest Championship finish of all-time came at Magny-Cours in 2012, with Max Biaggi beating Tom Sykes to the title by just half a point.
0.000s – Last year, a new record for the smallest gap between polesitter and 2nd on the grid was set in Magny-Cours, as Rea and Razgatlioglu recorded exactly the same time, down to the smallest possible digit. The Superpole was thus decided by the second-best lap time in favour of Rea.
SHORTHAND NOTEBOOK
2022 race winners:
- Alvaro Bautista (Race 1)
- Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha, Superpole Race and Race 2)
Last three pole-sitters at Magny-Cours:
- 2022: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 1’36.124
- 2021: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 1’35.683
- 2020: Eugene Laverty (BMW) 1’48.644 (wet)
Manufacturer podium places (and wins) accumulated from all races at Magny-Cours:
- Ducati: 46 (18)
- Kawasaki: 31 (14)
- Yamaha: 29 (9)
- Aprilia: 11 (3)
- Honda: 10 (2)
- Suzuki: 7
- BMW: 4
Key gaps Magny-Cours 2022:
- Front row covered by: 0.109s
- 1 second in Superpole covered… the top 13: 0.768s
- Closest race gap between 1st and 2nd: 1.891s (Razgatlioglu 1st, Bautista 2nd, Superpole Race)
- Closest race podium: 2.040ss (Razgatlioglu 1st, Bautista 2nd, Rea 3rd, Superpole Race)
- Closest all-time Magny-Cours podium: 0.412s (Toseland 1st, Haga 2nd, Bayliss 3rd: Race 1 2006)
Manufacturer top speeds at Magny-Cours, 2022:
- Kawasaki: Alex Lowes – 297.5 km/h, Superpole
- Ducati: Alvaro Bautista – 299.1 km/h, Superpole
- Yamaha: Toprak Razgatlioglu– 297.5 km/h, Warm Up
- Honda: Iker Lecuona – 298.3 km/h, FP3 and Race 1
- BMW: Loris Baz – 297.5 km/h, Superpole
Watch all the 2022 season unfold chapter-by-chapter with the comprehensive WorldSBK VideoPass!
Source: WorldSBK.com