WorldSBK: Alvaro Bautista victorious in Race one

Alvaro Bautista wins his first race at Donington Park after a thrilling Race one.

Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) started on pole position for the first race of the weekend at Donington Park. It is the third year in a row that Rea has started on pole position at is home round. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was alongside him on the front row of the grid, with Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team in third.

It was Bautista who got the best launch on the grid, taking the race lead on the opening corner. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team)  and Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW)

Jonathan Rea managed to reclaim the race lead at the end of lap two, after a mistake from the championship leader. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) managed to get into the third place ahead of Petrucci. Just one lap later it would be second place for Razgatlioglu as he began to close in Rea.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)  had a terrible start to his race, dropping down to 20th position.

An incredible battle formed, with nine riders in the lead group and battling for the race win in the early stages. Rea hit the front, then Razgatlioglu, then Bautista with the Ducati rider hoping to stretch the lead.

Records tumble

Alvaro Bautista set a new lap record in the race, as he began to be the first rider to push on the new Donington Park circuit. Riders entered an unknown with 10 laps remaining with teams unable to complete full race runs due to unstable weather conditions in practice.

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) sat comfortably in fourth position, ahead of Petrucci. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) was in sixth ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK).

Both Honda’s struggled in the race with Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) in 13^th and 14^th positions. Lecuona’s race would end early after a crash with two laps remaining on his Honda.

Danilo Petrucci was the man on the move in the closing stages of the race as he found a way through on Lowes. Petrucci then chased down Jonathan Rea as Rea began to struggle with tyre life.

Bautista ends Ducati’s drought at Donington

Alvaro Bautista continued his run of dominance at Donington Park after an incredible and consistent race from Bautista. After 11 years Ducati were race winners at Donington Park once again. Bautista also became the second Spanish rider to win in the WorldSBK class at this track.

Toprak Razgatlioglu ended the race 3.718 seconds behind after losing touch with the Ducati rider. Jonathan Rea ended the race in third after defending from Petrucci in the final few laps. Petrucci ended in fourth, finishing ahead of Andrea Locatelli who rounded out the top five in race one.

Alex Lowes ended his home race in sixth position, finishing ahead of Axel Bassani in seventh place. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had a last alp battle for eighth with his teammate, Tom Sykes. Redding managed to get the better of his teammate, finishing as the top BMW.

Image credit: Ducati Media