The ninth Superbike World Championship round concluded on Sunday at the Nevers Magny-Cours circuit in France.
Saturday saw British rider Bradley Ray and the Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team take part in Superpole, a session in which they set a best of 1’36”961. Race 1 unfortunately came to a premature end for Ray due to a technical problem.
Yesterday, in hot and sunny conditions, Ray was on track for the Superpole Race and Race 2. In the ten-lap sprint, the Englishman made a fast start which allowed him to insert himself into the chasing group. Avoiding mistakes and maintaining a consistent pace, Bradley crossed the line in fifteenth place.
Race 2 ran in the afternoon. Thanks to his Superpole Race result, Ray started from seventeenth on the grid. After making a good start, the Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team rider was making up ground when a red flag brought the race to a halt. When the race restarted, the Brit was very fast, climbing quickly up to ninth place before unfortunately suffering a crash. Regretful, in that the crash compromised what would have undoubtedly been a very strong result.
The next WorldSBK round will take place on 22-24 September at Motorland Aragon in Spain.
"The French weekend has brought a few negative episodes too many, which have prevented us from continuing on the positive path we were following in previous rounds. I’m nevertheless confident for the next round, because Bradley has shown to be fully recovered following his shoulder surgery.”
“A weekend of highs and lows. It was a real pity to crash in race 2 today after making such a good start that put me up into the top ten. I had the pace to stick with those ahead also because the team’s hard work meant that we’d found a great set-up and the bike was really performing well. After the crash I got back on the bike and finished the race but at the back of course. I’m really sorry about what happened but am pleased with the progress we’ve made here, which leaves me feeling optimistic ahead of the next round at Motorland Aragon”.
