Yari Montella took two podium finishes at the Magny-Cours WorldSBK weekend, strengthening his position in third place in the 2026 riders’ standings. The result also continued a strong run of form for the Barni Ducati rider: Montella now has 13 podiums this season, with eight of them arriving in the last nine races.

Set-up changes improved the pace

Montella said the weekend had started with difficulties and that he had finished fourth in the previous day’s race. The team made adjustments to the bike on Sunday, followed by another major change in the Superpole Race. According to Montella, those changes improved both his pace and his feeling with the bike.

The rider also acknowledged that Sam Lowes’s crash in the Superpole Race helped him, while noting that he was in a position to benefit from the incident. Lowes had qualified on the front row and finished third in Race 1 before the crash. Alex Lowes and Sam Lowes each recorded a DNF on Sunday.

A useful points advantage

Montella described Race 2 as his best race to that point. He reported difficulties with the front tyre towards the end, but said his pace was not far from Iker Lecuona’s, while Nicolo Bulega was further ahead. He considered the weekend a positive start after the summer break.

After Magny-Cours, Montella held a 46-point advantage over Alex Lowes and a 49-point advantage over Sam Lowes in the standings. He also stressed the importance of continuing to score championship points, identifying his feeling with the bike as the main positive from the weekend and the result as a consequence of that feeling.