WorldSBK Magny-Cours Race 1 Results: Razgatlioglu stuns Rea for win

Toprak Razgatlioglu has taken a shock maiden World Superbike Championship victory from 16th on the grid after stunning Jonathan Rea with final lap overtake in a thrilling encounter at Magny-Cours.

Rea looked to be on course for a 12th WorldSBK win of the season to further cement his title aspirations but having benefited from a late crash out of the lead by Michael van der Mark, he was caught out by a charging Razgatlioglu just two corners from the chequered flag.

Regardless, he still extends his championship advantage over Alvaro Bautista, who could only recover from 13th to fifth place, the margin between the two riders rising to 100 points.

With little dry weather running ahead of the race, the opening laps prompted a frantic – and at times bruising – battle amongst the leaders as Rea first resisted contact from van der Mark into Adelaide, only to be pushed aside by Tom Sykes on lap two, who in turn was bumped down by a fast-starting Chaz Davies.

With Davies losing momentum with a wobble out of 180, Sykes reclaimed the lead and again rebuffed Rea, only for the Kawasaki man to be shoved back by an aggressive pass by van der Mark at Turn 13.

It could have proved the defining move for the Dutchman, who wasted no opportunity in grabbing the lead from Sykes before putting the hammer down to establish a gap and stretch out the leaders.

However, having led right up to lap 20 of 22 van der Mark lost the front of the Yamaha into the Adelaide hairpin to crash out of the lead.

That promoted Rea into the lead but having held a 0.8s advantage over Razgatlioglu coming into the final lap, the Turk pushed hard to close the margin and dive for the inside into the penultimate left-hander, seemingly catching his Kawasaki counterpart unawares.

A remarkable first win for a rider that has achieved eight podiums in 2019 without topping it, he started well down the order in 16th after struggling in wet Superpole, but an aggressive opening lap saw him up to seventh and he quickly worked his way into the top three.

However, he was fortunate not to be eliminated by Davies, whose wild attempt to pass on lap four saw him bump into the side of Razgatlioglu, before losing front the Ducati and sliding out. Staying upright but running wide, Razgatlioglu got back into contention and looked on course for a podium before van der Mark’s exit put victory in his sights.

As well as being Razgatlioglu’s first win, it is the first success for the privateer Puccetti Racing team at WorldSBK level, while it makes him the first Turkish rider to win a race in the class.

Sykes on the podium, best of season for Camier, Honda

Behind the lead battle, Sykes dropped back after his initial fast getaway but recovered ground in the final laps, planting a superb move on Loris Baz to snatch third place for BMW with the Frenchman left to rue what could have been his and Ten Kate Yamaha’s best finish of the year.

Starting 13th, Bautista never quite latched onto the lead battle but steadily picked up positions as the race wore on to finish fifth, ahead of an out-of-sorts Alex Lowes in a distant sixth.

Leon Camier showed Honda what it’s been missing during his absence with an excellent ride to seventh place for the Japanese manufacturer’s best result of the season, ahead of Eugene Laverty, who got the better of tenth place Marco Melandri on the final lap.

Elsewhere, van der Mark picked up his Yamaha to get some points in 13th, while Leon Haslam – who is battling Razgatlioglu in the overall standings – lost ground after falling from ninth with a crash at the final corner. 

French WorldSBK, Magny-Cours - Race 1 Results