The Magny-Cours circuit made its debut on the WorldSBK calendar in 1991 for a single year, but it has been a consistent presence since 2003. Notable French riders like Regis Laconi and Raymond Roche have participated in WorldSBK, with Roche securing the title in 1990.
The track has embraced historic moments since its inception, including the occasion when Max Biaggi secured his second title by just half a point ahead of Tom Sykes, and the moment Sylvain Guintoli achieved the first French victory in WorldSBK at Magny-Cours in 2012.
MAGNY-COURS HOT SPOTS WITH SCOTT REDDING
T5/ “You go all the way down to T5 on the side of the tyre. You’re never really get straight. You get to sixth gear there. Then it’s all the way down to first gear into T5, and the rear wheel is lifting. The slower the speed, the more the rear lifts, so the closer you get to the corner the harder it is to stop effectively. Sometimes you think ‘I braked too early!’ But then you release the brake a little bit and have to start braking again and overshoot it. It’s quite a hard one to judge and then obviously if you mess up that then you mess up the exit from first gear hairpin, which will slow you all the way down to T7. On the exit of T5 the track goes up and down. So you’re fighting with the wheelie over the lumps.”
T13/ “T13 is somewhere that you think is very good overtaking place but it’s actually difficult because some people go directly into the apex because it’s slow, and some people keep it open. You can cut back but it’s a bit of a tricky one. It’s not your normal tight corner – because you don’t just pick up all the way, you pick up and you lean it back down. Then you go under the bridge and click fifth gear. You get your knee down and then you brake on almost full lean angle. Your knee’s on the floor trying to back shift and brake which is really sketchy in the rain. And it is pretty downhill. When you come up and over is when the bike unloads and people can lose the front.”
T15/ “Some people can overtake into T15 but it’s a little squirt to T16. In T16/T17 people have so many different lines. Some people clip the first curve and some people clip the second – some people clip both. So it is quite messy and sometimes hitting that kerb can unsettle you. My father goes to that area to spectate and he likes it, and says you can actually see quite a bit there. The track’s really close.”
Alvaro Bautista posted his 50th win milestone in Most and now is just two wins shy of the third all-time spot held by Troy Bayliss (52 wins).
At the forefront of the championship battle is Alvaro Bautista, boasting an impressive 427 points. Bautista, fresh from his 50th win milestone achieved at Most, is now only two victories away from overtaking Troy Bayliss in the all-time wins list.
Trailing behind is Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team), with 353 points, 74 points adrift of Bautista. Razgatlioglu’s prowess on the track is undeniable, evident in his six wins this season. With a successful track record at Magny-Cours, including two wins from 16th on the grid in 2019, he’s poised to claim another victory, narrowing the points gap.
Hot on their heels is the ever-consistent Jonathan Rea, holding 251 points. The six-time World Champion, who’s 23-race win drought ended in Most, remains a formidable contender, boasting nine wins at Magny-Cours, the most by any rider.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK Team) stands strong with 227 points, aiming to make his presence felt at Magny-Cours and elevate his podium count. Meanwhile, BMW’s Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) hold onto their positions, determined to shake up the standings.
