Alvaro Bautista extended his Superbike World Championship lead with a victory in Race Two Sunday afternoon at Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli, in San Marino.
Riding his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R, the Spaniard won the 21-lap race by 8.4 seconds. It was Bautista’s 10th win in 10 full-length races and his 14th win overall so far in 2023.
Toprak Razgatlioglu was the runner-up on his Pata Yamaha Prometeon YZF-R1, and Axel Bassani finished on his Motocorsa Racing Ducati.
American Garrett Gerloff was ninth and the top-finishing BMW rider on his Bonovo Action BMW M 1000 RR.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Dominant Bautista completes a hat-trick of wins on Ducati’s home soil
Reigning WorldSBK Champion Alvaro Bautista beat Toprak Razgatlioglu and Axel Bassani in Race 2 to take his tenth consecutive victory. He became the first rider in WorldSBK history with 14 wins out of the first 15 races of the Championship. He extends his lead his championship tally to 298 points.
P1 | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“Fortunately, in red or yellow, I have the same feeling with the bike. We had the same performance, so the colour doesn’t matter, what’s important is inside. It was a very special weekend for Ducati and also for me because, in the end, I feel half-Italian half-Spanish because I’ve worked with Ducati for many years, and I feel so good. Last year, we won two out of three races but this year we did the hat-trick so I’m happy.
It’s unbelievable how we started the season, but the important thing is the feeling I have with the bike. I can ride it at my best, and I can get to the limit of the bike at all tracks and in all situations so I’m really happy for that. Records are to be looked at after my retirement but, now, we are building our way to try and keep this feeling with the bike to work. This is not the end. We have to keep working like this.”
Toprak Razgatlioglu took second place in Race 2 as he crossed the finish line 8.446s behind the race winner. He remains second in the standings with 212 points, 86 fewer than Bautista.
Local hero Axel Bassani completed the Race 2 podium to take his fifth podium, the first one since San Juan 2022. He is fifth in the standings with 126 points and is the top Independent rider.
P3 | Axel Bassani | Motorcorsa Racing
“It’s a really special place for a first podium of the year. I’m really happy for the team because we worked really hard and never gave up. I’m really happy and want to continue in this way but now we need to enjoy the moment and then focus on the next races after! I’m totally happy, I don’t have a lot of words to say! To have a podium at home is like a victory!
It’s always special to battle with Jonathan; for me, he’s the best rider in WorldSBK as he’s a legend! To have some laps with him is good but it’s also good to beat him! Today, it was hard to do, because he’s crazy and like an animal! He pushes every lap until the end, but I’m happy to beat him. I made a mistake but recovered the position and tried to get to Toprak and Michael. I tried, but these are the races! I’m very happy!”
Jonathan Rea finished fourth, his best result since Catalunya Race 1. With 129 points, he stands in fourth place in the standings.
Third in the Championship standings with 150 points, Andrea Locatelli completed Race 2 top six.
WorldSBK Race 2 Report
There were fights up and down the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid during Race 2 at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” during the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed a stunning win to take a Misano hat-trick wearing a special yellow livery for Ducati, while his teammate, Michael Ruben Rinaldi, crashed out from third place when fighting for the podium.
As the lights went out, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) got the holeshot to lead into Turn 1 before Rinaldi battled his way through on his teammate at Turn 4 to move into second. However, it did not take long for Bautista to head to the front of the field as he overtook his teammate and then went through on Razgatlioglu at Turn 8 on Lap 2. From there, he was able to build a gap to Razgatlioglu behind him as the Turkish star found himself under pressure from Rinaldi.
That pressure soon told for Razgatlioglu as the pair battled it out for second place before Rinaldi overtook the 2021 Champion heading into Turn 8 on Lap 3. Despite Rinaldi pulling away, Razgatlioglu started closing the gap but, by the halfway point of the race, Rinaldi had stabilised the gap slightly to around three tenths. On Lap 13, Razgatlioglu again closed the gap on Rinaldi as he looked to take second place from the home hero. Razgatlioglu made his overtake on Rinaldi at Turn 8 on Lap 15 to move into second but Rinaldi kept the pressure on, with the pair making contact at Turn 1 when Rinaldi looked to re-gain second place; Rinaldi’s race ended when he went into the gravel.
Originally a battle for fourth but turning into a podium fight after Rinaldi’s crash, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) went head to head with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). Rea got ahead in the early stages before Bassani responded on Lap 3 to move ahead of Rea to claim what turned into third place to claim his first podium on home soil and his first of the 2023 campaign as he pulled out a gap over Rea behind him.
Rea claimed fourth place after losing touch with Bassani as the race progressed, but he was able to finish more than two seconds clear of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) in fifth place as he enjoyed a strong Emilia-Romagna Round. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) came home in sixth place after fending off Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) in the closing stages of the race to take six, finishing a second behind Vierge and 0.245s clear of Petrucci in seventh after he bounced back from two incidents in the Tissot Superpole Race.
WorldSBK will be back in action for the Prosecco DOC UK Round at Donington Park from the 30th of June to the 2nd of July.
