The vacations are officially over for the World Superbike riders, who will be back on their bikes this weekend at Magny-Cours, to tackle the ninth round of the year (HERE the TV schedules).
A Round in which all eyes will once again be on the two title contenders, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Nicolò Bulega. With four rounds to go in the championship, the Turkish rider arrives in France with a 26-point lead over his direct pursuer and a great desire to exorcise the bad memories of the frightful accident suffered in FP2 last year, which threatened to ruin his season and not only that, extending his winning streak.
Nine consecutive victories and 15 total: this is the scoreboard maintained in this 2025 by the BMW rider, who boasts eight career wins on the French track (only one less than Jonathan Rea's record), and this weekend could equal his personal record of 18 wins in a single season. These are all signs of the excellent form that Toprak also reaffirmed in testing at Aragon a week ago, placing himself at the top of the timesheets in the last of the two days of testing.
Curbing the Turkish breakaway will not be an easy mission for Nicolò. But the Ducati rider has already shown over the course of the year that he can have his say even on tracks historically favorable to his opponent, and he will try to take advantage of the work done at MotorLand to reduce the gap to the leader, regaining a victory he has been missing since Most.
No less gripping than the duel for the title is the battle for third place in the championship, which sees Danilo Petrucci, Andrea Locatelli and Alvaro Bautista all bunched within 16 points. The three contenders for third place overall are among the most likely, along with Sam Lowes, to aim for a podium spot in this weekend's three races as well.
Left out of the Top 5 in all the heats at Balaton, Alex Lowes will surely try to bring the Bimota back into the fight for the positions that count, along with his teammate Axel Bassani. Also ready to jump into the fray are Jonathan Rea, eager to conclude these last four Rounds of his career in the best possible way, and Xavi Vierge, the only regular rider lined up at Magny-Cours by HRC. In fact, it will be rookie Sergio Garcia who will join the 28-year-old in France, replacing the injured Iker Lecuona.
Also declared unfit after crashing in the first race in Hungary, Garrett Gerloff and Andrea Iannone will be able to return to the track regularly this weekend. While Remy Gardner will have to pass through the medical checks before he can get back on his R1.