ROKiT BMW’s Michael van der Mark took victory in a dramatic flag-to-flag race in WorldSBK at Magny Cours, which saw just 12 riders take the chequered flag.
It was van der Mark’s first full-length race victory in WorldSBK since 2019 as he took the flag ahead of Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista and Barni Spark Racing’s Danilo Petrucci.
Kawasaki Racing Team’s Alex Lowes got a good start from pole position, but the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati of Nicolo Bulega made an even better one, overtaking the British rider into Turn 1.
Lowes responded immediately, getting the cutback into Turn 2 and pulling ahead of the Ducati man.
A chaotic first few corners saw Bulega, who was looking to take advantage of championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu’s absence, pushed back into sixth as his intermediate tyres took too long to activate in the changeable conditions.
There was even more pain for the Ducati rider at the end of the first lap, as he high-sided out of the final corner and out of the race.
Pata Prometeon Yamaha’s Jonathan Rea, who holds the record for most WorldSBK wins at this circuit, also crashed out of the final turn on Lap 1 after he lost the front.
Rea’s teammate Andrea Locatelli overtook Van der Mark for second as the rain started pouring again, but it was a short-lived advantage for the Yamaha rider as he crashed at the next corner.
Reigning champion Alvaro Bautista came into the pits at the end of the second lap as he gambled that the rain would continue to come down, which would prove to pay off throughout the race.
It was the Bonovo Action BMW of Garrett Gerloff that was the fastest on track in the early stages, and the American was able to cut Lowes’ two-second lead to take over out front on Lap 4.
With the rain proving to be too heavy for the intermediate runners, the leading contenders Lowes and Van der Mark came into the pits to swap to the wet tyres, as Gerloff risked staying out.
The American’s risk would prove to not pay off, as he crashed while in the lead – although his thirty-second gap saw him rejoin ahead of Lowes and van der Mark, he pitted for wet tyres shortly after.
As Lowes retook the lead from the Dutchman, his Kawasaki teammate Axel Bassani, who was one of the early stoppers, crashed out of ninth, with Scott Redding falling out of fifth shortly after.
Lowes continued to pull away from the BMW of van der Mark, but crashed out of the lead on Lap 11.
The Brit was able to rejoin in seventh but a black flag put an end to his chances.
It was van der Mark who crossed the line 8.2 seconds clear of Bautista in second, while Danilo Petrucci rounded out the podium in third.
Redding, who crashed out early on in the race, came home in fourth, an incredible result for him considering his torrid year aboard the Bonovo BMW.
Team GoEleven’s Andrea Iannone rounded out the top five, with Honda enjoying a promising result, with riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Verge finishing sixth and seventh respectively aboard their CBR1000 RR-R machines.
Locatelli, Motorcorsa Ducati rider Michael Ruben Rinaldi and GYTR GRT Yamaha stand-in Alessandro Delbianco rounded out the top-10.
That left Lowes’ Kawasaki team-mate Axel Bassani and Gerloff to round out the classified riders in 11th and 12th respectively.
No Toprak, no problem, van der Mark’s success ensures the BMW factory squad’s winning run extends to 14 races.
