Toprak Razgatlioglu won Race 2 of the Magny-Cours WSBK, while Jonathan Rea bumped Alvaro Bautista off the track.
The drama came at Turn 13 on the second lap, when Bautista was being challenged for second place by Rea on the inside. The six-time World Champion pushed his rival wide and the pair touched, sending Bautista sliding off the track, into the gravel and out of the race.
Rea was given a long lap penalty from the race stewards, effectively ending his chances at a race win.
But the surprise package of the race was Axel Bassani, who showed impressive pace on his Ducati to take the race lead ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu.
With 15 laps to go, Rinaldi was the fastest man on track, putting in back-to-back fastest laps, closing the gap on Razgatlioglu. As the Turk wrapped up in a battle with Bassani, Rinaldi came up alongside the duo and passed them both in just two corners.
Bassani fell off the back of the leading pair, but had a comfortable gap back to Alex Lowes. Razgatlioglu remained firmly on Rinaldi’s wheel for several laps, until eventually the window of opportunity opened up and he sent his Yamaha down the inside to take the lead with seven laps to go.
Pushing to get back the lead, Rinaldi missed his braking point and shot through the Imola chicane, losing a bit of time but fortunately staying in the race.
Meanwhile, Rea continued to make up for his penalty, picking his way up the order, managing to pass Scott Redding for fifth in the later stages of the race.
At the front, Razgatlioglu would cross the finish line in splendid isolation for his seventh win of the season. The victory - and of course Bautista's retirement - shakes up the riders' championship, as Razgatlioglu leapfrogs Rea to move into second, 17 points ahead of the Kawasaki rider and 30 behind leader Bautista.
RACE 2 RESULTS
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK 21 Laps
2. Michael Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Racing Ducati +2.024s
3. Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +4.742s
4. Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +5.084s
5. Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +10.679s
6. Scott Redding GBR BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +11.955s
7. Andrea Locatelli ITA PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK +15.188s
8. Garrett Gerloff USA GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +15.443s
9. Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW +16.870s
10. Iker Lecuona SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +18.367s
11. Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +25.740s
12. Lucas Mahias FRA Puccetti Kawasaki +33.872s
13. Luca Bernardi SM Barni Spark Ducati Team +38.188s
14. Roberto Tamburini ITA Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSBK Team +41.389s
15. Kohta Nozane JPN GRT Yamaha +42.657s
16. Christophe Ponsson FRA Gil Motor Sport Yamaha +50.863s
17. Oscar Gutierrez SPA Pedercini Kawasaki +54.487s
18. Oliver Konig CZE Orelac Racing Kawasaki +1 Lap
19. Hafizh Syahrin MAL MIE Honda Racing +1 Lap
20. Eugene Laverty IRL Bonovo Action BMW DNF
21. Leandro Mercado ARG MIE Honda Racing DNF
22. Michael Van Der Mark SPA BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team DNF
23. Xavi Vierge SPA Team HRC WorldSBK DNF
24. Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.It Racing Ducati DNF