SBK | GP Magny-Cours: The Superbike World Championship resumes after the summer break, with Lorenzo Baldassarri heading across the Alps for the ninth round of the season in France
SBK | GP Magny-Cours: The Superbike World Championship resumes after the summer break, with Lorenzo Baldassarri heading across the Alps for the ninth round of the season in France
The ‘Marseillaise’ will be played at the ninth round of the 2026 Superbike World Championship, which, following the summer break, resumes at Magny-Cours, effectively kicking off the final third of the season. From 4 to 6 September, the World Championship for production-based bikes will be in France, and Lorenzo Baldassarri is keen to build on the positive form he showed at Donington last July, combined with the outstanding work carried out by the GoEleven team’s technicians. Although August brought a sharp halt to the momentum Lorenzo had built up with his Ducati Panigale V4 R, he will not lack the vigour he has regained during his holiday weeks, when, without any track sessions, the rider has recharged his physical and mental energy.
On the 4,411-metre Burgundy circuit, Baldassarri cherishes fond memories of his 2022 victory in Race 1 of the Supersport class. It was his fourth victory of that season in chronological order, a campaign that ended with him finishing second overall, just a handful of points short of the world title. Today, in completely different conditions and an equally positive situation, but with different objectives, ‘Balda’ is tasked with finishing all the races and accumulating as many points as possible, clocking lap times, lap gaps and race pace worthy of a top-of-the-table position. His competitiveness has grown throughout the season, starting with a podium finish and building race by race, so that he now arrives at this round ready to challenge the leading Ducatis and the other factory riders.
«At last we’re back in action after a break that’s given us a chance to rest and recharge our batteries, given that the first part of the season was full of excitement and great moments, but also some difficult ones, and today I’m ready to tackle the rest of the championship. Magny-Cours is a track I like; I have fond memories of it and a victory there from my Supersport days. I think we can have a good time, but I want to go into it without too many expectations and try to ride as fast as possible to bring home as many points as I can, whilst enjoying the weekend with the GoEleven team. We need to pick up where we left off after the Donington round, which was very positive despite a few hiccups, and we came away with a good haul of points. This last period has been a bit tricky, and I’d like to thank everyone who has supported and helped me. I can’t wait to get out on track.»
(Lorenzo Baldassarri)
To stay up to date, you can follow the 7balda (Instagram) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Facebook) social media channels, or visit the official website worldsbk.com. To experience all the excitement of the races live and on demand, simply tune in to worldsbk.com, Sky Sport, NOWtv and TV8 on channel 8 of DTT. The schedule is as follows.
| Day | Session | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Friday 4 September | FP1 | 10:20 |
| FP2 | 15:00 | |
| Saturday 5 September | FP3 | 09:40 |
| Superpole | 11:15 | |
| Race 1 | 15:30 | |
| Sunday 6 September | WUP | 09:20 |
| Superpole Race | 11:10 | |
| Race 2 | 14:00 |
UPDATE | GP Magny-Cours: A superb weekend for Lorenzo Baldassarri, who narrowly missed out on the podium, climbed the overall standings and is now preparing for Cremona
Lorenzo Baldassarri made a superb impression, putting in an excellent weekend on his return to racing at Magny-Cours following the summer break and climbing the standings in the 2026 Superbike World Championship. The GoEleven rider was in fine form right from the first free practice session, consistently demonstrating competitiveness in race pace and lap times. In Saturday’s qualifying, he clocked a time of 1’35.281, less than a second off pole position, after crashing towards the end of the session and missing out on his final chance to improve his time.
There was a scare in Race 1 when he crashed during the warm-up lap, but he managed to line up in time for the start. Unfortunately, a damaged footrest and a red flag halfway through the race disrupted his rhythm just as he was making up positions and chipping away at the lead group’s advantage. At the restart, he finished in sixth place without taking any further risks. The Superpole Race was a bit of a rollercoaster, and ‘Balda’ secured seventh place on the grid for Race 2, where he finally demonstrated all the potential seen in practice and the determination not to give up in the face of problems.
Fortunately, the damage to the fairing caused by the loss of a wing in the opening laps did not make the situation any worse, and Baldassarri managed the situation well, guiding his Ducati Panigale V4 R to a near-podium finish after a series of successful battles with rivals fighting for fourth place.
«It’s been a great weekend; I’m really happy and satisfied to have remained competitive throughout. We put on a bit of a show because I crashed in qualifying just as I was improving my time – otherwise I’d have qualified higher up. In Race 1, I crashed on the formation lap, but luckily I managed to line up on the grid as normal. I finished sixth, but with a footrest that had a broken pin and kept spinning round and round. In the Superpole Race, things got complicated and initially, whilst everyone else was going very fast, I found myself at the back, only managing to make up ground in the closing stages. Race 2, on the other hand, was brilliant, and it’s a shame I lost a wing, which caused a hole in the fairing; if it had come off, I would have risked having to retire. Instead, we staged an excellent comeback and had a great race pace. Thanks to the whole team, who did a brilliant job. After the break, I’m pleased to have come back with good pace and in great form right from Friday.»
(Lorenzo Baldassarri)
Following this ninth round, Lorenzo Baldassarri has moved up one place in the standings, overtaking both the factory rider and the factory team. This marks further progress in line with the overall trend since the championship resumed, as it heads into the final, eagerly awaited phase of the season.
There’s barely time to gather our thoughts and reflect on the highlights of the races before, from 18 to 20 September, we’ll already be back on track at the Cremona Circuit for the tenth round of the calendar. This is the second home round of the year, where it will be crucial to perform well and pick up more points to continue climbing the standings.
To stay up to date, follow the social media channels 7balda (Instagram) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Facebook), or visit the official website worldsbk.com. To experience all the excitement of the races live and on demand, simply tune in to worldsbk.com, Sky Sport, NOWtv and TV8 on channel 8 of DTT.
