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A chaotic seventh round of the 2022 Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) saw Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu split victories at Magny-Cours, as Lorenzo Baldassarri and Dominique Aegerter were on top in World Supersport (WorldSSP) while World Supersport 300 (WorldSSP300) glory went to Matteo Vannucci and Victor Steeman.

Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took a pivotal victory in race one, ahead of Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad World SBK Team) and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing). Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was fourth, ahead of Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha) who showed an uplift in form to complete the top five.

Notably, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) crashed out of lap two and could not finish in the points. Razgatlioglu also fell, in a separate incident, but was able to remount and cross the line P11.

The reigning WorldSBK champion rebounded to take the victory in the sprint race ahead of Rea who bested Bautista, the trio separated by 2.040s at the conclusion of the 10-lap bout.

Razgatlioglu later claimed the race two win to notch another perfect Sunday, as Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) crucially finished runner-up and in front of Bassani in third – the pair battling it out for the factory Ducati seat alongside Bautista next year.

Lowes was fourth once more, with Rea P5 after completing a long-lap penalty issued for a move made on Bautista during the second lap that caused the Spaniard to fall and retire from the race.

Following the drama in the French round, Bautista remains at the top of the standings with his advantage now 30 points ahead of Razgatlioglu. Rea is third, 47 points from the lead.

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A red flag-shortened WorldSSP race one saw Baldassarri (Evans Bros WorldSSP Yamaha) emerge on top after the 12th lap, with Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) and points-leader Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) in close pursuit.

Having to cut his way through the field after a mediocre start, Aegerter crossed the line first in race two, as Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) – who recently announced his retirement at the end of the season 2022 – was second and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP) completed the rostrum.

Notably, Baldassarri crashed out on the last lap while in close pursuit of Aegerter, but was able to remount and finish P5 behind Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha).

Aegerter now has a 19-point lead ahead of Baldassarri at the top of the standings,  with Bulega third, 118 points from the top.

Australia’s Oli Bayliss delivered a solid weekend in WorldSSP, qualifying a season-best P8 before notching 9-8 finishes, running as high as fourth in the opening stages of race two.

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In WorldSSP300, Vannucci (AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha) secured a slim .078s victory in race one ahead of former champion Marc Garcia (Yamaha MS Racing), as Alvaro Diaz (Arco Motor University Team) took the final spot on the podium.

Race two saw Victor Steeman (MTM Kawasaki) emerge on top, besting Diaz and Dirk Geiger (Fusport – RT by SKM Kawasaki) – the rostrum trio separated by 0.587s and the conclusion of the outing.

It was a difficult weekend for Australian Harry Khouri (Team #109 Kawasaki), with a DNF in the first bout at Magny-Cours followed by a P19 finish in race two.

Looking at the WorldSSP300 standings, Diaz leads by 40 points ahead of Garcia, with Steeman third a further 10 points adrift.

Also competing in France was Archie McDonald in the R3 bLU cRU Cup, with the Australia rider qualifying P4 and notching 5-5 results.

Detailed results