Michael van der Mark delivered a standout performance during the second free practice session for the 2024 French WorldSBK at Magny-Cours, clocking a blistering lap time of 1:36.010.
However, the session was overshadowed by a major incident involving his teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu who suffered a serious crash that raised concerns about his condition and future participation in the event.
The FP2 session commenced with high anticipation, especially after Razgatlioglu had set the fastest time in the earlier FP1. However, the second practice began tumultuously for the Turkish rider, who faced technical issues that delayed his entry onto the track.
His team had to change the fuel tank on his BMW M1000 RR, which prevented him from setting a time in the initial moments of the session.
Once on track, the championship leader aimed to quickly establish a competitive lap time and was on a promising trajectory, having clocked a time that was half a second faster than his rivals in the first three sectors.
Unfortunately, as Razgatlioglu approached the penultimate turn, he locked up the front tire while braking resulting in a loss of control. His bike slid across the track and collided with the protective barrier, triggering a red flag and halting the session.
With the Razgatlioglu crash sidelining him, Michael van der Mark seized the opportunity to assert his dominance in the session after the red flag was lifted as he quickly found his rhythm and began to improve his lap times.
Van der Mark’s final lap of 1:36.010 placed him at the top of the timesheets, 0.149 seconds ahead of Nicolo Bulega, who had been leading for a significant portion of the session.
Bulega, riding for Aruba.it Racing Ducati, demonstrated impressive form throughout FP2. He had finished FP1 in fourth place and continued to build on that momentum, ultimately securing second with a time of 1:36.159 ahead of Bonovo Action BMW’s Garrett Gerloff who finished third with a time of 1:36.390.
Alex Lowes emerged as the top Kawasaki rider in FP2, finishing fourth overall after improving from sixth-place in FP1. Following closely behind was Barni Spark Racing Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci who took the fifth spot.
Meanwhile Alvaro Bautista faced challenges during the session as he suffered a crash of his own at Turn 8, ultimately finishing sixth ahead of top Yamaha rider Jonathan Rea in seventh.
Axel Bassanio followed in eighth and Andrea Locatelli in ninth as Scott Redding marked the third BMW inside the top ten, highlighting its strength around the Magny-Cours circuit.
