Rea settles for second in WSBK action at Magny-Cours

Northern Ireland’s Jonathan Rea has had to settle for a second-place finish in Race 1 of WSBK’s French round at Magny-Cours, after being beaten on the final lap by Toprak Razgatlioglu.

A drama-filled race saw five different riders lead at various stages.

Razgatlioglu was actually lucky to stay on board when there was slight contact between his bike and that of Chaz Davies, as the Welshman ended up crashing out shortly after taking his turn in the lead.

Rea rallied his efforts to try to chase down Michael van der Mark and, by the start of the final lap, looked on course for his 12th win of the season.

However, it was not to be and Razgatlioglu took the top spot on the podium, with Rea second and Tom Sykes finishing third.

Rea’s nearest rival in the standings, Alvaro Bautista, finished fifth.

It was a historic result for WSBK’s 800th race, with Razgatlioglu the first ever Turkish winner.

But Rea remains in with a chance of writing another piece of history in Race 2 on Sunday, as he edges closer to a never-before achieved fifth consecutive world title.

Saturday’s results saw him extend his advantage over Bautista to 100 points.