Lowes On Top In First Magny Cours Qualifying

 Both Sam Lowes (Yakhnich Motorsport Yamaha) and Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Mahi Racing Team India) endured dramas in the first qualifying session at Magny Cours but the championship challengers ended up on top in any case, with Lowes taking the early advantage.

Looking to secure the championship on Sunday, Lowes met a damp but patchy track in the first free session, and then a relatively dry track surface in second qualifying. He was run off track trying to pass another rider on a quick lap, but did not quite crash on the trackside grass before he got back on the tarmac again.

Sofuoglu’s bike broke down near the end of the first timed session and that contributed to him finishing 0.387 seconds from Lowes – not an ideal start as he has to find a way to win on Sunday to keep his wafer-thin hopes of a championship win alive.

Lorenzo Zanetti (Pata Honda) was a strong third with the three-cylinder MV Agusta of Briton Christian Iddon fourth. Kevin Coghlan (Kawasaki DMC Lorenzini Kawasaki) stuck in a sixth fastest time of the first session on a track that eventually dried out enough for the session to be notified as officially dry by the race organisers.
Final qualifying is on Saturday 5th October.