Pole position for the FIM Supersport World Championship went to Kyle Smith (GMT94 Yamaha) after the British rider put in consecutive fast laps throughout the 25-minute session to start at the front of the grid for the Pirelli French Round at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours by more than one tenth of a second.

Smith, continuing to stand in for the injured Jules Cluzel, faced late pressure from Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) as the Frenchman aimed to secure pole position at his home circuit, but Smith’s last lap pf 1’49.318s was enough to take pole position. Smith and Mahias will line up alongside Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) with the Spanish rider in third, completing the front row; his first front row start in WorldSSP.

2020 WorldSSP Champion Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) qualified in fourth place as his run of consecutive pole positions came to an end; fourth place the lowest starting position for Locatelli in 2020. He will line up alongside Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) as the Italian secured his best Superpole result at Magny-Cours, ahead of Galang Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) as the Indonesian scored his best starting position of 2020.

Karel Hanika (WRP Wepol Racing) qualified in seventh place as he made his first WorldSSP appearance, qualifying ahead of Corentin Perolari (GMT94 Yamaha) in eighth place. Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) ended up in ninth place despite tracking Smith throughout the first part of the session as he sat in the top three. Danny Webb (WRP Wepol Racing) completed the top ten; the British rider showing impressive pace in the early parts of the race.

The top six following Tissot Superpole, full results here:

1.) Kyle Smith (GMT94 Yamaha) 1’49.318s

2.) Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.149s

3.) Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) +0.746s

4.) Andrea Locatelli (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) +0.963s

5.) Raffaele de Rosa (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +1.259s

6.) Galang Hendra Pratama (bLU cRU WorldSSP by MS Racing) +1.263s

You can follow the racing throughout the Pirelli French Round with the WorldSBK VideoPass!