The 2023 MOTUL FIM World Superbike Championship returns to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. Every year, records are broken, new milestones are reached and new reasons to celebrate are found. This season is no exception; check out the statistics from the famous French round.
18-1 – Despite being the most successful manufacturer with 18 victories, Ducati has only achieved one pole at Magny-Cours: in 2003 with James Toseland – its first pole.
16 – In 2019, Toprak Razgatlioglu set a new record for winning from the furthest place on the grid at Magny-Cours by winning from 16th position, and he did so twice: in Race 1 and in the Tissot Superpole Race.
10 – After a series of ten British poles at Magny-Cours (2010-2019), Eugene Laverty put a stop to it by taking first place in Superpole in 2020. The British record series: Cal Crutchlow (2010), Jonathan Rea (2011, 2016, 2017, 2019), Tom Sykes (2012 to 2014 and 2018), Leon Haslam (2015).
10 – Kawasaki holds the record for poles with ten, including the last in 2022 with Rea. That’s more than three times the value of its closest rivals, Yamaha and Honda, with three.
9/6 – Rea is the most successful rider here with nine wins. Razgatlioglu is next with six wins and Noriyuki Haga with five. Rea has the most poles at Magny-Cours with six.
4 – Only one rider has reached the podium here for four different manufacturers: Marco Melandri (Yamaha in 2011, BMW in 2012, Aprilia in 2014 and Ducati in 2017).
1 – Only one French winner at Magny-Cours: Sylvain Guintoli (Race 1 in 2012 with Ducati; Race 1 in 2014 with Aprilia).
0.5 – The closest ever championship gap took place at Magny-Cours in 2012, with Max Biaggi beating Tom Sykes to the title by just half a point.
0.000 – Last year, a new record for the smallest gap between poleman and second on the grid was set at Magny-Cours, with Rea and Razgatlioglu recording exactly the same time, right down to the smallest possible figure. Superpole therefore came down to the second fastest time in favour of Rea…
NOTEBOOK
Winners in 2022 :
Alvaro Bautista (Race 1)
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha, Superpole and Race 2)
Last three polemans at Magny-Cours:
2022: Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 1’36.124
2021 : Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 1’35.683
2020: Eugene Laverty (BMW) 1’48.644 (wet)