Bautista secures WorldSBK title despite Razgatlioglu’s Mandalika hat-trick

A 2nd place in Race 2 allowed Bautista to become the 2022 World Champion, delivering Ducati their first title since 2011

Race 2 Highlights – WorldSBK

P1 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)

Razgatlioglu won three races out of three in Mandalika. He took the advantage over Bautista to claim the win with a 1.230s advantage over the newly crowned WorldSBK Champion.

He remains second in the Championship standings with 462 points.

“For me it’s been an unbelievable weekend, in a Muslim country. Three wins… This is a very good weekend for me, I’m really happy. Congratulations to Bautista and Ducati. It was a really good season because we are fighting almost every race. We lost the Championship, but I tried my best. I won three times, and this is positive for me. We have a lot of respect. We are fighting but outside the track, we are talking to him like friends. I’m very happy for him to take the Championship this year, and also for him to ride the Ducati many years later. It’s a very good day for him. I remember it for me last year. I saw Alvaro in the gold leathers and I’m looking again because it was like my suit, very similar! Congratulations again, I think today is a Ducati day.”

P2 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

Bautista was crowned WorldSBK Champion with 533 points after his second place in Race 2.

“It’s incredible, I’m so happy. It’s a dream come true, especially after the last two years and all the difficulties. I want to say thanks to everyone who trusted me, to give me this chance to fight for good places and we got the Championship at the first time trying. Today was the first time I felt a bit nervous or stressed, but it was in Race 2 on the grid before the start. I tried to manage the emotions and when I was in first, I was making a lot of mistakes because I had too many thoughts in my head! I just preferred to say second behind Toprak, but he was very strong, so I could just follow him. So happy.”

P3 – Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)

Battling in front in the early stages of the race, Rea finished in third position in Race 2. He crossed the finish line 2.825s behind Razgatlioglu.

He stands in third place in the standings with 434 points.

“Sunday has been really positive. Like I said yesterday, I was quite content and satisfied with being on the podium. We were quite far from the race win. Today we were able to really close that gap. I could fight with Toprak for the Superpole Race. The rhythm was incredibly fast. So, I’m happy to be P2 there. In Race 2 today I felt something in the middle of the race. I couldn’t go, I was catching the guys at the front, and I felt like this could be good but again, last laps I just really struggled to get the best from my bike. Things were moving around a little bit. I just had to close the gap. My confidence was dropping because I was riding completely on the limit. Satisfied, as I’ve said we’ve made a good step. I want to thank my team for making a good step from yesterday.”

P4 – Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)

After claiming his second podium of the season in the Tissot Superpole Race, Locatelli finished in fourth place in Race 2.

He stands in fifth place in the Championship standings.

“I’m really happy about today because in the end, after yesterday, we understood a lot. We prepared very really for Sunday. Then, this morning it was really important to try to push in the Tissot Superpole Race. But I thought I could do it, so I trusted myself and I tried to give the maximum. Then, we started again from P3, so it was important. It was a really good Race 2. We fought a lot with Alex. It was really nice. It’s a very important weekend for me and it’s been positive. Now we have the last round to try again to push. I think I want to try to get some podiums because it’s one of my favourite tracks. I have a lot of motivation to finish the season.”

P5 – Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing)

Bassani was fifth in Race 2, finishing 8.205s behind the winner.

He was crowned Best Independent rider in the Tissot Superpole Race. He stands in seventh position in the Championship standings with 230 points after Race 2.

“Finally, I won the Independent Riders’ Championship. I’m really happy. Today, we made a lot a really good steps with the bike. Yesterday, I really couldn’t ride like I wanted. But today I felt good with the bike, I could stay with the top three guys. I only want to enjoy the moment. It’s really hot here so it’s difficult to have a normal race. You have to manage yourself physically, to stay focused on the race. I felt on fire. But anyway, we finished the race, we did our job!”

P6 – Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK)

Redding finished in fifth place in both the Tissot Superpole Race and Race 2. He was the leading BMW rider.

He is eighth in the Championship standings.

“The weekend was difficult with the track conditions. It was obviously hard for us to set the bike up because the track was changing all the time. Today was better for me. In the Superpole Race, I felt good with the bike and I was able to get a good result. And in the main race this afternoon, I felt pretty good, but I went off track again, trying to make an overtake and I lost the front group. I had a strong pace at the end of the race, I was catching, I passed two or three guys. The pace was there but I made another mistake. I was angry at myself for that because the pace was enough for the fourth position today so I could have battled with them. But we keep pushing, we keep trying and are looking forward to the next race in Phillip Island.”

The the Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round will take place from the 18th to the 20th of November at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

WorldSBK Results Race 2 

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)

2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.230s

3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +2.825s

4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +7.595s

5. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +8.205s

6. Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +12.478s

Championship standings (after Race 2 – Round 11)

1. Alvaro Bautista (ESP) Ducati (553 points)

2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) Yamaha (487 points)

3. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (450 points)

WorldSBK Results Tissot Superpole Race

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)

2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.586s

3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +1.235s

Newly crowned WorldSSP Champion Aegerter wins red-flagged Race 2

Four different manufacturers take the top 4 spots in Race 2

Race 2 Highlights – WorldSSP

P1 – Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Team)

After dropping back to ninth in the early stages of the race, the new Champion proved dominant again fighting back to claim his 16th victory of the season.

“It was a hot race. The conditions were very hot, we had 66 degrees of asphalt temperature. The humidity was really high. We tried to push really hard because today we had less pressure as we won the Championship yesterday. We went early to bed to be ready for today. The Ten Kate Racing Yamaha team did an amazing job. We tried something different this morning and they improved the bike. I hope Tuuli is ok, it’s sad he couldn’t ride until the chequered flag.  We tried to go full gas and achieve this. What we had this year is amazing. We won 16 races, 18 podiums … without my team, the technical support, the family, friends and the sponsors, we couldn’t have achieved this job and won the Championship with three races to go. But we try to enjoy tonight, have a good celebration with everyone and also the team deserves this party. Then we’ll go to Phillip Island to close the WorldSSP season in a good way!”

P2 – Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph)

Manzi took second place in Race 2 claiming his fifth podium of the season.

He is fifth in the standings with 207 points.

“It was a good race because we found something this morning in the Warm Up with the team. They worked very well, and I was able to be faster than yesterday. Today the bike was better, and I could go fast and recover some positions. Then it was a very good fight with Dominique. I saw he was going alone, and it was unlucky that the race was stopped with six laps to go. But it’s ok to finish in second place.”

P3 – Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing)

Oncu was third as he was promoted to a podium place following Tuuli’s crash on Lap 13.

He remains third in the Championship standings with a 38-point advantage over Bulega.

“Same as yesterday, we finish third so a double podium is always good. And in Indonesia it’s always special. I want to do my best to win, and Kenan always tells me I can. I didn’t have the tyre to win so I couldn’t make it here, but I hope I can do it in Australia. My bike is perfect, the problem is only me. I have to improve myself. We just need to focus to the next race in Australia.”

Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) finished in fourth place 3.377s behind Oncu. De Rosa’s fourth place ensured four different manufacturers were in the top four in Race 2. Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was fifth followed by Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) in sixth position 0.082s down on Montella.

Second in the Championship standings, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) finished in ninth place.

To note:

The race was red flagged with six laps to go following an incident at Turn 1 involving Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse). The Finnish rider was able to walk away but his bike was unable to be recovered and the race was red flagged.

WorldSSP Results Race 2

1. Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha)

2. Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) +0.470s

3. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +4.461s

4. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) +7.838s

5. Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +9.217s

6. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +9.299s

Championship standings (after Race 2 – Round 11)

1. Dominique Aegerter (SUI) Yamaha (462 points)

2. Lorenzo Baldassarri (ITA) Yamaha (359 points)

3. Can Oncu (TUR) Kawasaki (248 points)

More, from another press release issued by Dorna:

Alvaro Bautista secures 2022 WorldSBK crown

The 37 year-old rider secured the 2022 WorldSBK Riders’ Championship at Mandalika
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.It Racing – Ducati) fought hard during the 2022 season, resisting the charge of 2021 WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) and six-time Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). He became WorldSBK’s 19th Champion, and the second Spanish rider to be crowned WorldSBK Champion after Carlos Checa in 2011; Checa was also Ducati’s last WorldSBK Champion.

Bautista returned to Ducati for the 2022 season after two seasons away and did so in perfect fashion, taking his first win of the season in the Tissot Superpole Race at the season-opening Aragon Round. He also left MotorLand Aragon as the title leader following his Race 2 victory. Rea was able to fight back at Assen but that lasted for just one day as Bautista extended his lead again in Race 2, with the newly-crowned Champion leading the way from Assen’s Race 2 onwards. A Race 1 crash at Donington Park dented Bautista’s lead but he bounced back in style; taking 15 podiums in the 18 races that followed including a hat-trick at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. A crucial part of Bautista’s title-winning campaign was his fights with both Razgatlioglu and Rea, particularly with the 2021 Champion throughout the Estoril, Portuguese and Argentinean Rounds.

Bautista began his career in the Spanish Championship from 1995 to 2002. In 2002, he was fighting for the title until the final race. In the same year, he made his first appearance in the FIM 125cc World Championship as a wildcard. He became a 125cc Grand Prix winner in 2006 at the Spanish GP. With eighth victories claimed that season, he secured his first World Championship title. The Spanish rider then moved up to the 250cc class, claiming 28 podium places including eight victories. Bautista stepped up to the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship in 2010. During his eighth seasons in MotoGP™, he claimed three podium places and one pole position, with a fifth place as his best classification in the Championship standings in 2012. In 2019, Bautista made his WorldSBK debut with Ducati, finishing his rookie season with 16 wins, 24 podium places, 4 pole positions and 15 fastest laps as he secured second place in the Championship standings.

In 2020, he switched to Honda, racing for the Team HRC squad. Over the 2020 and 2021 seasons, he claimed three podium places for the Japanese manufacturer before returning to Ducati and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team for the 2022 season. With 14 wins and 29 podium places, Alvaro Bautista became the 2022 WorldSBK Champion at Mandalika. Bautista becomes the ninth different rider to take a Riders’ Championship for Ducati with the Italian manufacturer securing their 15th Riders’ Championship overall. He’s the third different rider in three years to take the crown, as well as being from a third different country and on a third different bike, emphasising the competitive parity in WorldSBK.

The newly crowned WorldSBK Champion will remain with Ducati in 2023 and both will aim to continue challenging many records.

Alvaro Bautista, Aruba.It Racing – Ducati:

“It’s incredible, I’m so happy. It’s a dream come true, especially after the last two years and all the difficulties. I want to say thanks to everyone who trusted me, to give me this chance to fight for good places and we got the Championship at the first time of trying. Today was the first time I felt a bit nervous or stressed, but it was in Race 2 on the grid before the start. I tried to manage the emotions and when I was in first, I was making a lot of mistakes because I had too many thoughts in my head! I just preferred to stay second behind Toprak, but he was very strong, so I could just follow him. So happy. It’s difficult to know what to say. I’m just so happy. During the whole season, I was so happy because I had a lot of experience from the past. I tried to be the best possible rider, not make mistakes. I think our performance has been really, really high. I think I had the best performance level ever from Toprak and Jonathan. They performed at a really high level in all races. I was lucky that I made fewer mistakes than them. What’s important is also consistency. I could beat Jonathan, a six-time World Champion and Toprak, a one-time Champion, breaking all the records at all the tracks which means the level is so high. We can win with this amazing level.”

Giulio Nava, Bautista’s Crew Chief: 

“We worked really hard for this; this team and Ducati. I’ve been working with Alvaro for many years and I’m super happy to be here with him, seeing him achieving these results. It means a lot. I’m very lucky to work with him. You create very a strong relationship together. We joke together. Alvaro is like my brother. It’s difficult for me to explain what it means, but it means the world to see him winning.”

Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager:

“It is a wonderful day for us. We worked a lot with Alvaro in the past and in 2019 we did a fantastic job until the middle of the season. In the end, we could not win the crown. Today, in the end, and it was a fantastic emotion. It was a special day. This is probably one of the best seasons of his life. This year, and 2006, were two really amazing seasons for him. He won the 2006 125cc World Championship and today he won WorldSBK. He’s a real fantastic rider and I’m really, really happy he could get the title today.”