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Title Fight Tightens Up After Race Two Win For Artigas
David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) and Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki) are the two Ninja ZX-6R 636 riders now fighting most closely for the championship crown after the sixth round of the WorldSPB championship.
The French round of the new-for-2026 FIM Sportbike World Championship was held in fine and dry conditions, from first practice on Friday, September 4 to the final race - which was won by Artigas - on Sunday, September 6
In Superpole Qualifying on Friday afternoon, Salvador took his fourth successive pre-race ‘win’, sitting at the head of a four-rider Kawasaki leading group. Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) placed second, Artigas was third, and Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) fourth.
Salvador was also fastest in Saturday morning warm-up, before the start of the first scheduled 11-lap WorldSPB race in France.
After a superbly combative opening race, in which Fenton Seabright (Triumph) was eventually declared the winner, Salvador had initially crossed the line in the leading position. He had, unfortunately, ridden into the track limits zone, which meant he had to drop one position in the final results.
Torres finished third in the opening race, in the shadow of the leading two riders, delivering two Kawasaki riders to the podium ceremony.
The opening 11-lap race went the full distance without any red flags or interruptions, and was another classic of its kind. The three podium riders were separated by just 0.137 seconds.
Artigas and Veneman finished up fourth and fifth, respectively, while Alvaro Fuertes (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team Kawasaki) and Jose Osuna (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team Kawasaki) rode into ninth and tenth places after 11 scintillating laps of action on a dry 2.75-mile-long track.
Veneman had to fight through the pain barrier in the first race, having been knocked off his machine in the morning warm-up. The thumb on his throttle hand was to cause him some issues throughout the races.
Juan Risueno (Pons Motosport Italika Racing) placed 13th in Race 1, with his teammate Julian Correa just missing out on a points score in 18th position. He was the lowest-ranked Kawasaki rider in the 34-strong starting grid, as all the Ninja riders made the finish line.
In this class, like WorldSSP, the Top 9 grid places for the second race are allocated by who sets the fastest laps of the first race. Hence, Artigas had to start from 11th position on Sunday, despite being fourth in Race 1, while Salvador was launching eighth off the Race 2 grid. Torres was 12th, but Osuna was one who gained from the system, starting from an improved fifth position, having been eighth after Friday’s Superpole session.
Osuna led the race early on, then Salvador took up the running out front. The Kawasaki riders were joined by Seabright and Carter Thompson (Yamaha).
On the final lap, Artigas was in the right position at the right time and went on to win by a very tight 0.098-second margin over Thompson and Seabright. Salvador just missed third place after a final chicane duel with the English rider, but he was still only 0.550 seconds from race winner Artigas.
Osuna had a much improved Race 2 and ended up fifth in the long-time leading group. Very close behind on the very last lap, still feeling pain from his thumb injury, Veneman gritted his teeth to fight his way forward and finish up sixth, a very tight 0.098 seconds behind Osuna. Torres was also well in contention in this race until a technical issue caused him to retire at half race distance.
The final Kawasaki points scorers in France were Correa and Fuertes, in 14th and 15th places respectively, but only after Fuertes was given a three-second time penalty for not rejoining the race in the correct manner after completing a long lap penalty.
After Round 6 of eight in the new WorldSPB category, four Kawasaki riders have already won races this year, with Artigas, Salvador, and Torres all scoring two wins each, and Veneman having taken one race victory.
Torres’ bad luck in Race 2 and Artigas’s excellent race win had a real effect on the championship fight. Salvador is out front with 197 points after Magny-Cours, Artigas is second with 167, and Torres third with 146 points. Veneman is tenth overall, with 83 points.
In the Manufacturers’ Championship, Kawasaki leads with 257 points to Triumph’s 183, Suzuki’s 147, Aprilia’s 139, Yamaha’s 129, Kove’s 19, and Honda’s 18.
In the Teams’ Standings, Team ProdDina Kawasaki XCI leads with 343 points, from the MTM Kawasaki squad’s 251.
The penultimate round of the championship will take place at the Cremona Circuit in Northern Italy, from September 25-27.
“I am really happy with the end result at Magny-Cours. The weekend was quite good, although today we started in 11th place. Yesterday we did not feel quite this good in the first race. But the team worked really well to change the things on the bike that I needed today, and I could push more. I am happy to take the lap record and also win the second race. That is important for the championship. I am really happy about the weekend. I feel strong, and I am now thinking about Cremona.”
- Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki)
“Friday went really well, and I was P2 in Free Practice and P2 in Superpole Qualifying. I had really strong pace on my own, and I could overtake quite well, so I was happy. In the Saturday warm-up, I got taken out by another rider for the fifth time this year. It is really disappointing that it has happened again. I had quite a lot of pain in my right thumb when riding the bike, so I was not sure if I could even finish the race. In Race 1, I was P5, so I was really surprised and happy with that. In Race 2, I started from P10 because I could not set a fast lap time in the opening race as I was in a lot of pain. I fell back to around P16. I was at one time in the second group, then I made up 3.5 seconds to the lead group. Once I got there, it was basically the final lap, so I had no time to overtake. But I am happy I could close the gap, even with the pain I was feeling. Finishing P6 was not so bad, even if I was hoping for more.”
- Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki)
“I made a good start to Race 1 and managed to get into first position straight away. Then, with Fenton Seabright, we overtook each other several times and had a good duel, especially in the last sector. I had a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I took to the green, and this bothers me because it was my mistake. At the chicane, I tried to avoid him, but in the end, I touched him, and it's not the first time I've had a situation like this. I’m happy with the work we did throughout the weekend and with Sunday’s race, as our pace was slightly better than yesterday. I stayed in the leading group the whole time, even though managing the race is tricky on this track because others can easily overtake on the long straight. I made a small mistake with just a few laps to go - probably at the worst possible moment. I still tried to fight for the win right to the end, but that’s racing. Fourth place is still a good result, and I’m already looking ahead to the next round. We need to keep working in this direction, as we’ve shown once again this weekend that we have excellent pace.”
- David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI)
“We finished Saturday on the podium, and I'm very happy with the work we have done. It was a really difficult race, also because of the great heat, and both Fenton [Seabright] and David [Salvador] were lapping at a very high pace. I'm still satisfied with third place, because we're back in the positions we know we can be. The last few races have been complicated, and during the summer I worked a lot on my weaknesses, especially on the management of the last laps and on my haste that sometimes led me to make mistakes. Today I think this work has been seen and I am happy with the result. We didn't wrap up the Magny-Cours weekend quite the way we had hoped. We started quite far back on Sunday and were staging a difficult but positive recovery. I’m happy with the work done over the weekend and how we managed to improve, session by session. Unfortunately, a problem prevented me from finishing the race. It’s a shame about the result, but the team is working really well, and I’m satisfied with what we’re achieving. There are still 100 points up for grabs, and we’ll fight to secure as many as possible.”
- Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI)