The Superpole and first race of the ninth Superbike World Championship took place today at the Nevers Magny Cours circuit in France. Lucas Mahias is standing in for Tito Rabat (who is competing in the MotoE world championship) aboard the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing Ninja. At what is his home round, the French rider’s bike features the Gi.Vi. brand as main sponsor, in that the prestigious Italian motorcycle accessories brand is an historic sponsor of Kawasaki Puccetti Racing.
Yesterday saw Mahias take part in the two practice sessions. The Frenchman finished twenty-first with a time of 1’39”108. This morning he was back out for the third and final practice and was able to improve on his best of yesterday, recording a 1’39”026. Then came the Superpole, in which Lucas took a significant step, placing eighteenth with a best of 1’37”236. This result meant that the Kawasaki Puccetti Racing rider lined up on the sixth row of the grid for the afternoon’s race. Having made a good start, the French rider was unable to find sufficient pace to make up positions. Maintaining a consistent rhythm and avoiding any mistakes, Mahias crossed the line in nineteenth place.
He will back on track tomorrow for the Superpole Race and second Superbike Race.
Circuit Nevers – Magny Cours – France
Superbike World Championship
Superpole: Superpole: 1) Gerloff (BMW) – 2) Bautista (Ducati) – 3) Rinaldi (Ducati) – 4) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 5) Rea (Kawasaki) – 6) Baz (BMW) ………. 18) Mahias (Kawasaki)
Race 1: Gara1: 1) Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 2) Rinaldi (Ducati) – 3) Rea (Kawasaki) – 4) Gerloff (BMW) – 5) Petrucci (Ducati) – 6) Locatelli (Yamaha) ……… 19) Mahias (Kawasaki)
Lucas Mahias
“This was my first Superbike race for a long time and it wasn’t easy, also due to the heat. My feeling with the bike wasn’t enough to be able to maintain a very fast pace. I nevertheless did my best to achieve the best possible result and collected data that will be useful for tomorrow’s races, in which I hope to do better. Thanks to my team for all their help again today.”
