Dixon and Chantra ready as WorldSBK action resumes in France
Circuit de Nevers Magny-CoursHonda HRC prepares for WorldSBK round nine at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
The Honda HRC team is all set to return to work at the historic French track of Nevers Magny-Cours, the stage for the ninth round of the 2026 Superbike World Championship.
Together with factory riders Jake Dixon and Somkiat Chantra, the squad has made the most of the summer break, completing a test session at Magny-Cours just over three weeks ago, as well as a test at Estoril Circuit towards the end of August. Both outings proved useful, with the sessions on French soil also giving the riders a first opportunity to get to grips with the technical track aboard the Honda CBR1000RR-R.
The last championship round, which was held at Donington Park six weeks ago, was a challenging one for both riders, although this only makes Dixon and Chantra more determined to come back strong as the WorldSBK action resumes following a summer break. With the knowledge banked during the recent tests, Jake and Somkiat are looking forward to getting back to racing at the ninth of the twelve scheduled WorldSBK rounds.
Inaugurated in 1960 in France’s Nièvre department, the Magny-Cours track has staged a variety of important two- and four-wheel championships over the years, including F1 and the Bol D’Or. The track currently measures 4.411 kilometres, runs in a clockwise direction and is made up of seventeen corners. The layout presents a good mix of fast, flowing sections and slow hairpins, testing the riders’ skills just as the weather tends to do at this time of year.
SBK RECORDS:
Best lap – Razgatlioglu (BMW) 1’35.500 (2025).
Superpole – Razgatlioglu (BMW) 1'34.930 (2025).
2025 SBK RESULTS:
Race 1 – 1. Razgatlioglu (BMW), 2. Bulega (Ducati), 3. Lowes (Bimota)
Superpole race – 1. Razgatlioglu (BMW), 2. Bulega (Ducati), 3. A.Lowes (Bimota)
Race 2 - 1. Razgatlioglu (BMW), 2. Bulega (Ducati), 3. A.Lowes (Bimota)
“After the Estoril test last week, I didn’t return to Thailand and instead spent a few days in Italy. Now we’re in Magny-Cours, and it will be my first time racing at this track, though we did complete a test session here in August. The test was a busy one. We tried to work on all aspects, including setup, and it looks like we have maybe 80 percent of the base setup. As for the remaining 20 percent, we’ll adapt over the weekend and see how it goes.”
“After the Estoril test last week, I didn’t return to Thailand and instead spent a few days in Italy. Now we’re in Magny-Cours, and it will be my first time racing at this track, though we did complete a test session here in August. The test was a busy one. We tried to work on all aspects, including setup, and it looks like we have maybe 80 percent of the base setup. As for the remaining 20 percent, we’ll adapt over the weekend and see how it goes.”
“Magny-Cours is here and I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be nice to get back to racing. This will be my second full weekend since returning from injury, so I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing with these next few races. We had a test here in August, which was very useful in allowing me to familiarize myself with a track I’ve never raced at before. It was a good test despite the incredibly hot conditions. Temperatures will probably be a little lower this weekend, but I’m really looking forward to it; let’s see what we can do.”
“Magny-Cours is here and I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be nice to get back to racing. This will be my second full weekend since returning from injury, so I’m looking forward to getting back into the swing with these next few races. We had a test here in August, which was very useful in allowing me to familiarize myself with a track I’ve never raced at before. It was a good test despite the incredibly hot conditions. Temperatures will probably be a little lower this weekend, but I’m really looking forward to it; let’s see what we can do.”
