The pair fought for victory in b𝔍oth Race 1 and the Superpole Race at the Magny-Cours WorldSBK round, and although he failed to finish the latter, Rinald𝔍i was back at his best.

No🌳t a circuit that’s typically been one of his stronges❀t, Rinaldi matches his best result from last season as he claimed second place in Race 1.

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In contention to then win the Superpole Race, Rinaldi was hit by teammate Alvaro Bautista after the Spaniard went too deep into tuꦺrn f𓂃ive.

Discussing his Race 1 fight with Razgatlioglu, Rina🐻ldi added: "I made a good start and tried to give 120% with the tyre; I used it a lot to stay with Toprak, as he was managing it a bit. 

"It brought us out of a three-rider group. Unfortunately, Alvaro🔯 had some issues anౠd we had a nice, nice battle with Toprak. 

"At the end, my tyre was dead because I didn’t manage it as well. It’s OK because it’s good for me but also a good way to say ‘thanks’ to my team, as at the end of the year, I will not be there but we still have chances toও ma🎉ke good memories. 

"I rea✤lly love to battle with Toprak because it can be hard but inside the limit. When he overtook me, I just said ‘OK, you can do that’ as I did it;💟 it’s not a big problem. 

"It was a really nice battle,ﷺ I have huge respect for him and he had respect for me and at the end, he had♊ something more."

Anoth𝓀er Italꩵian rider who had a strong weekend was Andrea Locatelli, as the Pata Yamaha rider got stronger in every race.

After claiming a double P4 finish on Sunday, Locatelli said: 𝔍"I’m very happy, especially about Race 2 – fortunately after restarted the race, I was feeling much better on the bike and could push right 🌞until the end and I finished in P4. 

"For me, we had really good results❀ here in Magny-Cours and made a really big improvement – alওso compared to Most. 

"So let’s se🌼e what happens in the next rounds! But for sure, it is a good end to this weekend with a good feeling and a good step forward, so I am really excited to go to Aragon now. 

"In the Superpole Race, we were close to the podium but lost a little bit in the first four or five laps – I recovered a lot under braking compared to Jonathan, but I lost a little bit on the exit of the corner so it 𒉰was difficult for me to overtake! 

"We need to be happy, we brough𒉰t home really g💯ood results – also for the championship and we will see what happens in the next races."