The 4.411km long ‘Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours’ is a regular WorldSBK host venue and it will once again welcome the WorldSBK paddock between 6-8 September, for what will be the eighth of 12 rounds this season. The most recent round was held at Portimao, in Portugal, between 9-11 August before the start of the summer break.

A refresh for the KRT squad and the Ninja ZX-10RR this season has had some instant and longer term impacts, especially for experienced rider Alex Lowes.

Alex scored two race wins in the opening round in Australia in February and has added a further seven podium finishes to his total for the year so far. His prowess on track in the previous seven rounds has placed him fourth in the overall championship standings, just ten points from the rider ahead of him, Alvaro Bautista.

One major change inside the official Kawasaki squad this season was the signing of the first new full-time KRT rider since 2020, in the shape of multiple podium-scoring Axel Bassani. The Italian competitor has worked hard in his first season on the Ninja ZX-10RR and is currently 13th overall.

Magny-Cours has witnessed no fewer than 49 individual WorldSBK races to date, with the first taking place way back in 1991. It was not until the 2003 season that the WorldSBK championship settled into regular visits to Magny-Cours. That run continued even during the recent global pandemic, during which almost every other round was conducted in Iberia.

There have been 14 previous race wins for Kawasaki riders at Magny-Cours, the most recent in 2021. Alex has previously scored five podiums at the French circuit  and Axel two.

In what will be a busy late-season period for all involved in the WorldSBK championship the subsequent round at Cremona in Italy will be the first of four events in five weekends. The all-new venue for WorldSBK will host round nine between 20-22 September.

Alex Lowes, stated: “I have enjoyed the break but I am more than ready to get back going again. I have spent some time with my kids, and because my wife has been away I have had the kids to myself. It is good mental training because they are nearly three years old - and they are full gas! That has been fun but it is back to work now, and I have been training hard. We have recharged the batteries for this next set of races and our schedule gets quite busy now for the next two months. Magny-Cours itself is a track that I really enjoy. I have had some good results there on the Ninja ZX-10RR in the past. Like always we will get down to work on Friday with Pere my crew chief and the rest of the guys to understand our base on the bike. Then we will see where we are for Saturday and Sunday. Our target is to challenge for the podium at a track I enjoy, a track the bike goes well at. I am looking forward to being back with the KRT guys, working towards achieving the best results possible.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “After three weeks off we now go to race at Magny-Cours. I have not been on track at there with the Kawasaki but we have to try to do a good job, like always. Usually Magny-Cours is not bad for me and in 2022 I had two podiums in a row. I also think it is a good track for Kawasaki and usually the Ninja ZX-10RR is fast in Magny-Cours. We will see how it goes there. This is not an easy year for me and we are trying to improve. The level is really high so we have to try our best, and enjoy it. In Portimao the feeling with the bike was good, the lap times were good but the results were not so good. I think in Magny-Cours we can do a good job.”

Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) will be on the hunt for more championship points as he heads to Magny-Cours on his KRT-supplied Ninja ZX-10RR. He is currently 20th overall, with eight points.

2024 KRT Rider WorldSBK Statistics

Alex Lowes:
2024: Races: 21, Wins 2, Podiums 9, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 4 (3 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 43 (23 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 1 (0 for Kawasaki)

Axel Bassani:
2024: Races: 21, Wins 0, Podiums 0, Superpoles 0
Career Race Wins: 0 (0 for Kawasaki)
Career Podiums: 6 (0 for Kawasaki)
Career Poles: 0 (0 for Kawasaki)

8 x Riders’ Championships (Scott Russell 1993, Tom Sykes 2013, Jonathan Rea 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020), 1 x EVO Riders’ Championship (David Salom 2014)
6 x Manufacturers’ Championships (Ninja ZX-10R 2015 & 2016, Ninja ZX-10RR 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020)
5 x Teams’ Championships (KRT/Provec Racing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019)

Kawasaki FIM Superbike World Championship Statistics
Total Kawasaki Race Wins: 180 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Podiums: 551 – second overall
Total Kawasaki Poles: 108 – second overall

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