After a long summer break WorldSBK action is back at Magny-Cours for the ninth round of the season. In the opening practice session after the summer break Jonathan Rea took command as he finished on top.
The usual suspects found their way to the top in the opening session of the weekend at Magny-Cours. After a week of moving and shaking in the rider market it is back to business as usual for the riders who are back on track after their summer break.
The Yamaha bound Jonathan Rea found his way to the top of the opening session of the weekend on board his Kawasaki. The British rider just kept hold of the top spot after a few time attacks occurred later on in the session.
A shock second place in Free Practice 1 as Garrett Gerloff found his way into the top two on his BMW after a time attack at the end of the session.
The Pata Yamaha duo found themselves in third and fourth at the end of Free Practice One. Toprak Razgatlioglu just beat his Italian team-mate to third place in the session and had a strong start to his weekend. Andrea Locatelli finished fourth place and looked strong early on in the session.
Alex Lowes could not match his team-mates pace in the opening session of the weekend as he finished in fifth place and was 0.4 seconds behind Rea.
The Aruba.it Racing - Ducati riders finished the opening session in sixth and seventh place with both Alvaro Bautista and Michael Ruben Rinaldi being 0.5 seconds off of the pace.
Scott Redding was the second BMW rider in the top ten as he ended the session in eighth place, despite rumours around his destination in 2024 his weekend has started off strong.
Axel Bassani bought an early end to FP1 after he crashed in the final minutes of the session bringing out the Red Flag. But the young Italian got back to his feet and found himself ninth on the time sheet.
Danilo Petrucci had an issue at the start of the session but managed to get back out on the track towards the end and put in a lap time that placed him tenth overall.
>>> 2023 WorldSBK Championship standings <<<
| 2023 French WorldSBK | Magny-Cours | FP1 Results | Rd. 9 of 12] | |||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Motorcycle | Lap Time |
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 36.900 |
| 2 | Garrett Gerloff | USA | Bonovo Racing | BMW M 1000 RR | 1m 37.057 |
| 3 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | Pata Crescent Racing | Yamaha R1 | 1m 37.060 |
| 4 | Andrea Locatelli | ITA | Pata Crescent Racing | Yamaha R1 | 1m 37.142 |
| 5 | Alex Lowes | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 37.331 |
| 6 | Alvaro Bautista | ESP | Aruba Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 37.467 |
| 7 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | ITA | Aruba Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 37.477 |
| 8 | Scott Redding | GBR | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK | BMW M 1000 RR | 1m 37.635 |
| 9 | Axel Bassani | ITA | Motocorsa Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 37.662 |
| 10 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | Barni Spark Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 37.744 |
| 11 | Michael van der Mark | NED | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK | BMW M 1000 RR | 1m 37.878 |
| 12 | Xavi Vierge | ESP | Team HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 1m 38.068 |
| 13 | Philipp Oettl | GER | Go Eleven | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 1m 38.114 |
| 14 | Dominique Aegerter | SUI | GYTR GRT | Yamaha R1 | 1m 38.128 |
| 15 | Iker Lecuona | ESP | Team HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 1m 38.218 |
| 16 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | ITA | GMT 94 | Yamaha R1 | 1m 38.283 |
| 17 | Loris Baz | FRA | Bonovo Racing | BMW M 1000 RR | 1m 38.286 |
| 18 | Remy Gardner | AUS | GYTR GRT | Yamaha R1 | 1m 38.316 |
| 19 | Bradley Ray | GBR | Motoxracing | Yamaha R1 | 1m 38.364 |
| 20 | Isaac Vinales | ESP | TPR by Vinales Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 39.026 |
| 21 | Lucas Mahias | FRA | Puccetti Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 39.713 |
| 22 | Hannes Soomer | EST | MIE Racing | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 1m 40.029 |
| 23 | Oliver Konig | CZE | Orelac Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 1m 40.471 |
| Hafizh Syahrin | MAL | MIE Racing | Honda CBR1000RR-R | No Time Set | |
