Toprak Razgatlioglu won on his Pata Yamaha in the first World Superbike race of the weekend at Magny-Cours as Jonathan Rea placed third.
Razgatlioglu’s seventh victory on the French circuit closed the points gap between him and championship leader Alvaro Bautista to 55.
Kawasaki’s Jonathan Rea continued his streak of podium finishes after marking his third place finish for the third time since the last race in the Czech Republic six weeks ago, including his first-ever victory this season.
This comes as the six-time champion from Northern Ireland made the announcement that he would run on Yamaha machines in 2024.
Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi sat next to pole sitter Garrett Gerloff on the front row as they kicked off the first weekend after summer break. The second row featured two previous WorldSBK Champions with Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea in fourth and fifth place.
Once the chequered flag went up, Toprak Razgatlioglu was without a doubt the rider who had won the first race of the weekend.
Early in the race, the Turkish rider overtook Bautista for the lead, but he had to contend with Rinaldi for the most of the race. Throughout the race, Razgatlioglu pursued the Italian in anticipation of his opportunity to seize control and retake the lead.
The current leader of the WorldSBK Championship, Bautista, fell all the way down to last place following an early incident in which his engine appeared to have issues. The Spaniard, however, was focused on preventing any further damage and maintaining his championship lead. Bautista was able to move back up to tenth place without any further problems coming up.
However, back at the front, Bautista’s teammate Michael Reuben Rinaldi came in second after falling short of pace to edge the former WorldSBK Champion. But Rinaldi, who is attempting to secure a ride in the WorldSBK Championship for 2024, will benefit greatly from a second-place finish.
In spite of the fact that he had previously stated he would be leaving Kawasaki at the end of the season, Jonathan Rea was still able to finish on the podium in the opening race.
The Northern Irishman could only manage third place because he lacked the speed to keep up with the Ducati or Yamaha after maintaining his consistency.
Jonathan Rea was still able to finish on the podium in the opening race after declaring he would depart Kawasaki at the end of the year. The Northern Irishman appeared to be as steady as ever, but he could only finish third place as he lacked the speed to compete with the Ducati or Yamaha.
The pole-sitter, Gerloff, and Alex Lowes were locked in a tight battle throughout the race. The American and British riders gave everything they had as they swapped over fourth and fifth place the whole race. However, Lowes finished eighth due to a technical issue as Gerloff, who won over a lot of fans after topping qualifying crossed the finish line in fourth.
Andrea Locatelli and Danilo Petrucci battled alongside each other for fifth place as both riders have been in contention for the podium this season. But after some close racing, Petrucci overtook Locatelli and finished in fifth place.
Andrea Locatelli and Danilo Petrucci, two Italians, competed in France for fifth place. Both riders had been podium contenders this season, but after some intense competition between them, Petrucci overtook Locatelli and finished in fifth position.
Scott Redding began from tenth on the grid due to a mishap in qualifying, but he managed to move up the ranks during the course of the race. The former British Superbike Champion finished in an impressive seventh place.
According to reports, Philipp Oettl is leaving GoEleven Ducati to make room for Andrea Iannone. However, the German regained his form in France and moved up to ninth place overall.
Bradley Ray, sadly, had to withdraw from the race due to what seemed to be a technical problem.
2023 French WorldSBK Magny-Cours Race One Results
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Motorcycle | Gap |
| 1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | Pata Crescent Racing | Yamaha R1 | |
| 2 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | ITA | Aruba Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +2.656 |
| 3 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +4.773 |
| 4 | Garrett Gerloff | USA | Bonovo Racing | BMW M 1000 RR | +6.266 |
| 5 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | Barni Spark Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +8.987 |
| 6 | Andrea Locatelli | ITA | Pata Crescent Racing | Yamaha R1 | +9.740 |
| 7 | Scott Redding | GBR | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK | BMW M 1000 RR | +9.916 |
| 8 | Alex Lowes | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +10.760 |
| 9 | Philipp Oettl | GER | Go Eleven | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +12.623 |
| 10 | Alvaro Bautista | ESP | Aruba Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +13.250 |
| 11 | Dominique Aegerter | SUI | GYTR GRT | Yamaha R1 | +14.921 |
| 12 | Xavi Vierge | ESP | Team HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R | +21.932 |
| 13 | Loris Baz | FRA | Bonovo Racing | BMW M 1000 RR | +22.213 |
| 14 | Iker Lecuona | ESP | Team HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R | +24.004 |
| 15 | Remy Gardner | AUS | GYTR GRT | Yamaha R1 | +25.699 |
| 16 | Michael van der Mark | NED | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK | BMW M 1000 RR | +31.246 |
| 17 | Axel Bassani | ITA | Motocorsa Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +35.579 |
| 18 | Hafizh Syahrin | MAL | MIE Racing | Honda CBR1000RR-R | +55.958 |
| 19 | Lucas Mahias | FRA | Puccetti Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +57.052 |
| 20 | Oliver Konig | CZE | Orelac Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1 Lap |
| 21 | Hannes Soomer | EST | MIE Racing | Honda CBR1000RR-R | +1 Lap |
| DNF | Bradley Ray | GBR | Motoxracing | Yamaha R1 | |
| DNF | Lorenzo Baldassarri | ITA | GMT 94 | Yamaha R1 | |
| DNF | Isaac Vinales | ESP | TPR by Vinales Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | |
