In the pouring rain at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours it was Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who scored the win in Race 1 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, making it another BMW success story despite the absence of his teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu. Van der Mark is a highly accomplished wet weather rider and he mastered the difficult conditions at the Motul French Round for the victory, with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) celebrating as he crossed the line second, 8.288s behind the race Dutchman, having started 17^th on the grid.

PETRUCCI COMPLETES PODIUM: a treacherous race for the riders

More than 24 seconds after rain-master Van der Mark had taken the chequered flag Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) crossed the line in third, with only 12 riders finishing the race as the heavy rain poured down at Magny-Cours. The race had started in mixed conditions with many of the riders on slick tyres and only a few electing to start on intermediates, with the survivors all switching to full wet set-ups, the majority pitting in on laps 3 to 5 as the heavens opened and the racing surface became sodden.

FIRST LAP DRAMA: Bulega and Rea go down

Simultaneous crashes for Championship contender Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) on the chicane at the end of the first lap brought the race to an early end for both riders. Rea was transported to hospital with a fracture of the right thumb and a deep wound, whilst Bulega sustained right shoulder and collarbone contusions, with both to be assessed further before Warm Up on Sunday morning. Rea’s Pata Prometeon Yamaha teammate Andrea Locatelli then crashed on Turn 5 of lap 3, though the Italian was able to remount and continue his race, eventually finishing in eighth.

REDDING PICKS IT UP FOR FOURTH: BMW rider overcomes crash

Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) had pitted on lap 4 and then crashed from a top ten position on wet tyres on lap 9 at Turn 5, but he was able to pick his BMW M 1000 RR up to bring it home in fourth place, ahead of Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) in fifth. In the absence of standings leader Razgatlioglu it was a chance for the rest of the grid to fight for victory, following the Turkish star’s remarkable 13-race winning run coming into Round 8. Razgatlioglu watched the race in his pitbox after being ruled out of action with mild traumatic pneumothorax, after his heavy Free Practice 2 crash on Friday.

HONDA PAIR IN TOP TEN: Lecuona promoted to sixth

Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) finished seventh but was promoted to sixth as his colleague Xavi Vierge was given a penalty for being under the pit intervention time when he had changed tyres. Locatelli in eighth and his compatriots Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) and Alessandro Delbianco (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten. It was a solid performance for Delbianco as he substituted for Dominique Aegerter.

HIGH ATTRITION RATE: crashes throughout the field

Behind 11^th place finisher Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) was the last rider to finish, in 12^th place. On intermediate tyres Gerloff had taken the lead on lap 4 at Turn 5, only for him to crash at Turn 7 three laps later. In the wet conditions Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crashed out of the lead on lap 11, rejoining in seventh place. Lowes then had to retire from fifth on lap 16 due to a loose fairing which was hanging off the side of his Kawasaki ZX-10RR. His brother Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) crashed out of the top ten with 4 laps to go, with Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) going down seconds later.

The top six from WorldSBK Race 1, full results here:

1. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)

2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +8.288s

3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +24.285s

4. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) +34.037s

5. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) +42.108s

6. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +50.799s

Fastest lap: Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) – 1’42.753s

Next up in France is the Superpole Race on Sunday at 11:00 Local Time (UTC +1), watch the action live with the WorldSBK VideoPass - now 50% off!