Toprak Razgatlioglu claimed the race one victory and the WorldSBK title lead after a dominating performance on his Pata Yamaha at Magny-Cours on Saturday.
Jonathan Rea completed the 21-lap battle in second, four-seconds behind his main rival, with Andrea Locatelli third. His KRT teammate Alex Lowes sat comfortably on the podium until the closing stages before a turn eight crash put paid to the afternoon’s progress.
Rea launched from pole but it was Razgatlioglu who grabbed the holeshot, Lowes slipping in behind his teammate as the opening lap unfolded before Rea took charge once again. Ducati’s Michael Ruben Rinaldi unexpectedly swept through to take second as Lowes and Razgatlioglu battled for position, with the Brit being demoted back to fourth as the first lap reached its conclusion.
Lowes was back in third next time around as Locatelli joined the top-five, Leon Haslam heading an improving Michael van der Mark from sixth - the Dutchman having missed the majority of FP3 due to an engine issue.
Scott Redding - starting from eighth after struggling with a lack of grip on the Q tyre - circulated in ninth by lap three, Alvaro Bautista challenging him for position as the Brit continued to drop back, now with Chaz Davies and Tom Sykes - after a dreadful start from the front row - for company.
Razgatlioglu had a strong lead after five laps of action, the Yamaha running six-tenths clear of the two KRT machines with the Italian pair maintaining their grip on the top-five. Locatelli repeatedly hassling Rinaldi as the race played out.
Rea was honing in on his championship rival by lap eight, the Kawasaki hot on the wheels of the R1 with Lowes over two-seconds clear of the rest of the pack. Razgatlioglu responding as he pulled a second on the Northern Irishman two laps later.
Further back, a seven-rider battle ensued for seventh position, Redding running 12th as Haslam dropped in to the clutched of his Honda teammate at the halfway stage.
Locatelli finally made the move stick on Rinaldi with 10 to go, immediately setting after the first KRT with impressive pace as he reduced the gap to just over a second in just a couple of laps.
Disaster struck Lowes with five to go, the Ninja succumbing to the French layout at turn eight after losing the front.
Razgatlioglu had a four-second lead with just three laps left to run, Locatelli a similar gap behind Rea in the final podium position.
The battle of the Brits further back saw Haslam run off track as he dropped to 10th before Redding crashed out of 12th at turn 13. Davies advanced to eighth behind Bautista and Axel Bassani, with Sykes narrowly behind just two-tenths adrift.
The chequered flag found Razgatlioglu in control of the race, and now the standings, thanks to his 4.467s lead. Rea and Locatelli joined the podium celebrations with Rinaldi and van der Mark completing the top-five.
