Nicolo Bulega won a comfortable victory in the second WorldSBK race at Magny-Cours. The Aruba.it rider got a superb start and pulled away quickly, building up a gap of over 2 seconds within four laps. The only rider who could get anywhere near to Bulega was Barni Ducati's Danilo Petrucci, though Petrucci never got close enough to pose a serious challenge.
The battle for the last place on the podium was a little fiercer, Garrett Gerloff eventually disposing of fellow BMW rider Michael van der Mark. The Dutchman was later demoted to fifth place by a hard-charging Alex Lowes, who had run wide and had to make his way through the field, eventually ending the race in fourth. It cemented a strong weekend for the Kawasaki rider.
The WorldSBK field had been further depleted for the second race. In addition to Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea, Alvaro Bautista was a non-starter for Race 2, the Aruba.it rider suffering a fractured rib in a crash during the morning's Superpole race.
Bulega's victory further closes the gap in the championship to the absent Toprak Razgatlioglu. Bulega now trails the BMW rider by 55 points, Razgatlioglu having 365 points to Bulega's 310.
Results:
Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Gap |
1 | 11 | N. BULEGA | Ducati Panigale V4R | |
2 | 9 | D. PETRUCCI | Ducati Panigale V4R | 2.303 |
3 | 31 | G. GERLOFF | BMW M 1000 RR | 4.300 |
4 | 22 | A. LOWES | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 6.576 |
5 | 60 | M. VAN DER MARK | BMW M 1000 RR | 7.521 |
6 | 87 | R. GARDNER | Yamaha YZF R1 | 11.620 |
7 | 97 | X. VIERGE | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 12.155 |
8P | 45 | S. REDDING | BMW M 1000 RR | 0.045 |
9 | 55 | A. LOCATELLI | Yamaha YZF R1 | 1.621 |
10 P | 7 | I. LECUONA | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 1.398 |
11 | 47 | A. BASSANI | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 17.918 |
12 | 29 | A. IANNONE | Ducati Panigale V4R | 26.852 |
13 | 52 | A. DELBIANCO | Yamaha YZF R1 | 28.630 |
14 | 53 | T. RABAT | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 28.646 |
15 | 21 | M. RINALDI | Ducati Panigale V4R | 29.418 |
16 | 5 | P. OETTL | Yamaha YZF R1 | 35.166 |
17 | 28 | B. RAY | Yamaha YZF R1 | 36.438 |
18 | 95 | T. MACKENZIE | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 49.190 |
19 | 75 | I. LOPES | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 49.535 |
RET | 14 | S. LOWES | Ducati Panigale V4R | 12 |