Supersport Magny-Cours: Öncü throws it away; Race 2 is Garcia’s first win

Can Oncu is brilliance and recklessness: after sealing race 1, he had the double in his hands but made a serious mistake two corners from the end, making the entire Ten Kate team scream in anger as they were already savoring triumph. Emerging from the melee as the winner was Roberto Garcia: it’s a first for the 20-year-old Spaniard, just confirmed by the GMT94 team for 2027.

The French squad led by Christophe Guyot, former Endurance world champion, celebrated on their home track. But Albert Arenas also goes home fully satisfied, finishing ahead of Valentin Debise and reinforcing the World Championship standings: he now has a 70-point lead over the Frenchman from ZXMoto, that is, a round and a half with three left to run.

Supersport was the usual furious brawl with a six-rider train that included all the top names, and just before two-thirds distance they were setting up for a final sprint. But Tom Booth-Amos launched the Triumph into the air fences, prompting race direction to stop everything. So a second start was needed, with just five laps to decide it all. The previous group reformed, but obviously the tension rose because such a short distance doesn’t forgive mistakes. In the finale, Can Oncu made the right moves, putting Debise and Arenas in line. Up to two corners from the end, the Turk was gifting himself a masterpiece weekend, but the braking error sent it all up in smoke. On paper he was supposed to be Toprak Razgatlioglu’s heir, but when it counts and the pressure rises, Can makes mistakes too often. And this time Roberto Garcia says thanks.

For the veteran of the Chinese ZXMoto it’s the eighth podium of the season, a formidable result for a debuting brand. Just to say: the 820RR triple isn’t even available on the Italian market yet. But on track it runs like the wind, even if it might be too late to put the World Championship back in the crosshairs. Valentin Debise was ready to launch the attack on home soil, but the potential of the Yamaha R9 blocked his path.

After the glory years of Locatelli, Bulega, and Stefano Manzi taking the title last year, this season there isn’t much Italy in Superbike’s feeder series. Here, however, Filippo Farioli went strong, sixth place, a sign that with the Yamaha VFT the Bergamasque rider is finding his way after a thousand tribulations. Federico Caricasulo could have aimed for more than eighth as well, setting the lap record right at the end with the ZXMoto. Hanging over the conclusion is the question: with only five laps, what kind of race is it?

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