WorldSBK Magny-Cours Superpole Results: Rea pole, Bautista only 14th

Jonathan Rea took another small step towards the 2019 World Superbike Championship title by holding his nerve in a tense wet Superpole qualifying session at Magny-Cours.

The Ulsterman – who leads Alvaro Bautista by 91 points and can win the title this weekend if he extends that margin to 125 points – laid down an impressive benchmark in the opening half of the session that put him more than seven tenths clear of the opposition. 

However, his rivals would slowly chip away at the margin in the closing minutes with Michael van der Mark putting in lap after lap to bring the margin right down to two tenths ahead of his final effort.

Going quickest in the opening three sectors, van der Mark lost his advantage in the final corner when he had to lift for a yellow flag, leaving him just 0.014s shy of pole position. Rea did respond with his own PB 0.001s quicker but either way he’d secure pole.

Rea’s joy was compounded by a dismal morning for his title rival Bautista, who never looked comfortable in the slippery but evolving conditions, rarely showing in the top ten as lap times dropped. He will start down in 14th position. 

Leon Haslam made it two factory Kawasakis on the front row, the Briton well ahead of satellite rival Toprak Razgatlioglu down in 16th as he suffered in the conditions.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi flew the flag for Ducati as the only Panigale rider in the top ten with a fine run to fourth, ahead of Loris Baz – scoring his best start of the season – and lap record holder Tom Sykes on the BMW.

Alex Lowes heads up row three from Eugene Laverty, ahead of Honda duo Ryuichi Kiyonari and Leon Camier, the pair posting their first top ten starts of the year as the CBR1000RR once again proved more competitive in wet conditions.

Chaz Davies gets away from 11th place, ahead of Alessandro Delbianco, Marco Melandri – who suffered a crash – and the embattled Bautista.

WorldSBK Magny-Cours Superpole Results