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Rain reshuffles the cards in France, where it is Toprak Razgatlioglu who produces the first twist of a roller-coaster weekend. Highs and lows like those experienced by Alex Lowes and Andrea Iannone, in a Round where Michael van der Mark rediscovers the view from first position. A view that Nicolò Bulega also returns to admire, while the rain continues to fall copiously over Jonathan Rea's head.
THE GOOD - Rivers of beer must be flowing these days in Calvenzano. Not for the conclusion of the nearby "GerundiumFest," but to celebrate the achievements of the Barni Spark Racing team. After bagging a seventh title in CIV Superbike with Michele Pirro, Marco Barnabò's team continued to rack up the results in the World Championship as well, leaving France with Danilo Petrucci's three podiums and Yari Montella's show of strength in Supersport, which relaunched the Campania rider's World Championship chances. Italians Do It Better. Nicolò Bulega also knows this refrain well, and not wanting to be outdone, he tried to reopen the battle in Superbike as well, saying goodbye to Magny-Cours with a double win.
THE BAD - Perhaps the bad guys are us who do not give Andrea Iannone all the extenuating circumstances, yet it becomes difficult to get to the bottom of what went wrong at Magny-Cours. Fifth in the wet in Race 1, complete with fogged helmet, The Maniac completely disappeared on Sunday over the Alps, staying out of the Top 10.
THE UGLY - Jonathan Rea no longer knows what saint to turn to for mercy, or what faults to atone for what has guided him through this season's sporting ordeal. A succession of misfortunes, problems and complications has plunged the northern Irishman and Yamaha into a nightmare from which they are not managing to wake up. "There's a black cloud following us," said the disconsolate six-time world champion, who after ending the French weekend early also sees the Cremona round at risk. It continues to rain in Rea's 2024, but the rain doesn't last forever. Or so one hopes.
THE DISAPPOINTMENT - Never more than in this eighth Round of the year did Alex Lowes and the Kawasaki had a serious chance to savor victory again, after their resounding double win at Phillip Island. Instead, Lowes saw fit to fall back into his bad habits, complicating his life beyond repair with two roller-coaster long races. Highs & Lowes. In name and in fact.
THE CONFIRMATION - The BMW is a winning bike, not just in the hands of Toprak Razgatlioglu. It took Michael van der Mark to put all the bad tongues to rest, picking up the baton from the Turk to give the Munich-based manufacturer its 14th consecutive win. A success as sweet as ... the wet, of which the Dutchman confirmed himself as a specialist, returning to triumph 1070 days after the last time.
THE MISTAKE - Only Toprak could get the better of Toprak. The Turkish rider proved once again to be a step ahead of his rivals, succeeding in what everyone had failed at in the last four Rounds... by putting a spoke in his wheel. A hint of overconfidence in his means and in his BMW cost the Turk, who was forced to watch the races from the pits after Friday's chilling crash. All in all, it could have been worse for him. Much worse than that.
THE SURPRISE - It was enough to see the maturity with which he approached this CIV Superbike season to realize that Alessandro Delbianco is a completely different rider from the one seen in 2019 in the World Championship category. However, from here to imagining a weekend tackled with the mastery of the Romagna rider, always in the points despite the prohibitive conditions and a totally different bike from the one used in the Italian championship, a lot of water passes under the bridge. Or on the track, if you like.
THE OVERTAKE - It may not have been the most spectacular of those seen in France, but we want to reward the maneuver with which Garrett Gerloff squeezed past van der Mark on the inside, going for a podium he hadn't seen since the Yamaha days.
THE CURIOSITY - With his second place in Race 1, Bautista netted his 98th podium finish with Ducati. Two short of Carl Fogarty's record.
I TOLD YOU SO - Toprak on Thursday, "If it rains I have to win. I've never won in the World Championship in wet conditions and if I succeed it would be the first time for me!" Resolutions postponed until the next rain shower.
