Jonathan Rea fights hand-to-hand with Razgatlioglu in the final race, eventually finishing second, while Alex Lowes crashes and goes down to fifth on the standings.
The riders arrived at the French circuit of Nevers Magny-Cours ready to compete at their best in the eighth round of the season, which started wet after the morning rain. After the first free practice sessions, and once the cloud cover gave way to sunlight, the temperature of both the air and the track increased, which helped set the fastest times in free practice 2 on track.
Jonathan Rea finished in the top three at Magny-Cours on Friday, just 0.288 seconds off the fastest time. During the sessions, he experienced some setup issues, which he and his team tried to resolve quickly so that it affected the rest of the weekend as little as possible.
On his side, Alex Lowes stayed in the top positions until the last – and crazy- minutes of free practice 2. Finally, he finished in eighth place, although happy with the progress him and his technical team made since FP1.
Rea started Saturday's first race from the pole, setting two records and reaching another major milestone with Kawasaki. By winning his eighth Tissot Superpole in a row, Jonathan achieved a WorldSBK record for successive pole positions. This 35th pole position for Rea has been Kawasaki's 31st, but more importantly, it has been the one that has given the team a total of 100 poles in WorldSBK as a manufacturer since it started in 1988.
The first race, held in hot and dry conditions, was being led by Rea, until Toprak Razgatlioglu went from second to first on lap four. The Northern Irish rider continued to push and fight to regain the lead, but ultimately took second place. This second place from Jonathan means his 20th podium of the 2021 season so far.
Lowes was running under pressure from Andrea Locatelli, Razgatlioglu's teammate, when a crash at turn eight on lap 17 forced him to abandon.
In the first session on Sunday, Rea managed to catch up with Razgatlioglu, although a little later he was passed again by him. Thus, the Northern Irishman was second, just 0.352 seconds behind Razgatlioglu when they crossed the finish line. However, Rea was ultimately awarded the victory in the Superpole, as his rival had drifted into the green area, resulting in a penalty that dropped Toprak to second place.
Lowes achieved his fifth podium of the season thanks to a well deserved third place in the Superpole, after a strong and confident race at all times.
The second race offered spectators a heads-up between Rea and Razgatlioglu. As the race progressed, a growing gap formed between Jonathan and Toprak, who was ultimately the winner of the race. Rea consolidated his second place scoring 20 more points for the general classification.
Alex suffered another fall. This time in the second lap, while he was in third position. Now, he is fifth overall on the standings, just ten points behind the fourth. Position that he will try to pass during the next round, which will be run in two weeks at the Catalan circuit of Montmeló.
Ana Carrasco rallied fifteen positions in the first race at Magny-Cours, after a difficult first lap that took her to the very back positions. Finally, she finished in 13th place when she crossed the finish line. The second race on Sunday was also spectacular for Ana, who starred in another great comeback after starting from the sixth row of the grid and finally finishing in 11th position, just five seconds behind the winner of the race.
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