The return to FIM Superbike World Championship competition, after the long summer break, saw Alex Lowes (KRT) takes the lead in qualifying on the first day at Magny Cours. Jonathan Rea (KRT) ultimately placed 19th in the general classification on Friday but ended up fastest in the afternoon in a session slower than in the morning.
The first session, FP1, was marked by drops of rain, then even heavier showers shortly after the start of the session. Some drivers therefore achieved their first time in the dry, while others were only able to achieve their best time of Friday in the wet.
The rain continued for a while during FP2 in the afternoon, with further disruption when a red flag stopped the session to clear debris left by a crashed machine.
At the end of FP2, Jonathan Rhea was the fastest rider in this session, riding with confidence in the slippery conditions. alex lowes had a good third time, proving his pace in both the dry and wet.
A recent mid-season test session in Barcelona – Catalonia for alex lowes et Jonathan Rhea played a role in bringing about some tuning improvements, particularly in the case of alex lowes, who finished the first day at the top of the combined rankings in France.
The 4,411km Magny-Cours circuit is expected to feature dry conditions for FP3, Superpole Qualifying and Saturday's Race 1, with the possibility of even greater improvement for Sunday's two races.
Jonathan Rhea : " In my exit lap this morning, I felt good, then during the first time, I started to have drops on my visor. Then the rain continued to fall, and that's how it was! The wet conditions this morning were a little wetter than those at the end of FP2 this afternoon. Felt great on the completely wet. In the afternoon, we worked on drying track settings because in 2020, I was surprised with a dry trajectory which appeared but which did not offer traction when exiting the corner. I think we made a good improvement. It would have been good to have a dry session today, given that the weekend is going to be dry. FP3 could be a very important session tomorrow morning. »
alex lowes : " I'm not worried about being the fastest because everyone had a few laps in the dry this morning. I'm always good at getting down into the rhythm pretty quickly. I was happier with my pace in the rain; I felt really good on the bike in the rain. We improved the rear of the bike in the last test, trying to get more grip in the dry and this also transferred to the rain. I am happy with this first day, while understanding that the weather was a little strange. I hope we will have a little more consistent weather for Saturday. But the initial feeling here with the bike is good. »
Combined FP1/FP2 Superbike results at Magny-Cours:
Classification credit: WorldSBK.com
