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

Not a circuit that’s typically been one of his strongest, Rinaldi matches his best result from last season as h🔴e claimed second place in Race 1.

• Petrucci misses out on top five treble after “breaking t𓃲he gearbox sensor” 
• Gerloff𒊎: “No love lost with Scott, but hard t๊o 100% blame him”

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

Discussing his🎃 Race 1 fight with Razgatlioglu, Rinaldi 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 and 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 ‘thℱanks’ to my team, as at the end of the year, I will not be there but we still have chances to make good memories. 

"I really love to battl𒊎e with Topr🌱ak 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, I have huge respect fo🔥r him and he had respect for me and at the end, he had something more."

ꦬAn🍒other Italian 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: "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 bi൩g improvement – also compared to Most. 

"So let’s see what happens in the next rounds! But for sure, it is a good end to this weekenꦉd with a good fee🥂ling 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 was difficult for me to overtake! 

"We need to be happy, we brought home really good results – also for the championship and we will see what 🔯happens in the next races."