WorldSBK: Alvaro Bautista extends Championship lead

Alvaro Bautista wins three out of three races at Misano after an incredible weekend for Ducati.

Race 1

On pole position for race one was Alvaro Bautista after a great qualifying lap. Alongside the Spaniard were Razgatlioglu and Michael Ruben Rinaldi on the front row. 

From the start, it was Bautista who led the way, with Razgatlioglu dropping down to third position. Behind Razgatlioglu was Danilo Petrucci, who made his way into fourth place from the start.

No one could match Bautista’s pace in the opening stages, allowing the Spaniard to bridge a gap at Ducati’s home race. Bautista quickly extended his gap to over one second in the opening race of the weekend.

Alex Lowes was down in eighth position after a poor qualifying and led an eight-bike pack onboard his Kawasaki. His teammate, Jonathan Rea, was in his own battle for sixth position with Dominique Aegerter. 

Danilo Petrucci was the rider on the move, eventually making his way into fourth position onboard his Ducati. Petrucci crashed out of fourth position with six laps to go in the opening race. This mistake would be Axel Bassani’s gain, who was promoted to fourth position onboard the Motocorsa Ducati.

At the line, it was Alvaro Bautista who would win the opening race of the weekend after an impeccable performance. Michael Ruben Rinaldi finished five seconds behind in second, with Razgatlioglu rounding out the podium.

Axel Bassani came home in third, making it three Ducatis in the top four. Johnathan Rea managed to hold onto fifth after defending from Dominique Aegerter at the finish line after a last-lap duel.

Superpole Race

Alvaro Bautista started the race in pole position and would lead the way into turn one for the Superpole race. Toprak Razgatlioglu would take the race lead in turn two onboard the Yamaha R1.

Danilo Petrucci made contact with Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardener on the opening lap of the race.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi sat in third position, with his rival Axel Bassani behind in fourth position. The pair picked up from where they left off at Catalunya and traded positions at every corner.

Bautista set the fastest lap of the race and took the race lead from Bautista with eight laps to go.

Danilo Petrucci received a long-lap penalty for irresponsible riding at turn two on the opening lap. He would take the long lap penalty with six laps to go and would drop down to 10^th. 

Andrea Locatelli continued to struggle in the Superpole Race and dropped down to ninth position. Tom Sykes crashed out of the race, but he would remount in the early stages of the race.

Toprak Razgatlioglu took the race lead with just four laps to go, but it would not last long, with Bautista passing at Curvone.

Danilo Petrucci made contact with Iker Lecuona at turn eight, which would bring out the red flag with three laps to go. This meant the result was taken at the last sector, allowing Bautista to win. Toprak Razgatlioglu finished in second, with Michael Ruben Rinaldi rounding out the podium.

Race 3

Toprak Razgatlioglu led the way on the opening lap of the race after a great start onboard the Yamaha R1. However, this lead was swiftly taken by Bautista on lap two as he attempted to take another race win.

Tito Rabat retired from the race on the opening lap after he suffered from a technical fault with his Puccetti Kawasaki.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi made his way into second position, allowing Ducati to have a one-two in the final race. Axel Bassani, Rea, Lowes, and Vierge created their own battle further down, in the battle for fourth.

Alex Lowes would crash out of the race, ending a disappointing weekend at Misano for the Kawasaki rider.

Scott Redding struggled in the third race of the day, with Gardner, Aegerter, Baldassarri, and Ray finding a way through the ROKiT BMW. All riders would find a way past, but Bradley Ray would have to retire from the race after a technical issue.

Danilo Petrucci was in a race for redemption and battled through the pain battle for eighth position.

Toprak Razgatlioglu slowly closed the gap between himself and Rinaldi, showing his late-race pace. He began to plan a move as the Ducati V4 continued to make overtaking hard on the straights.

With seven laps to go, Razgatlioglu made the move to claim second position, continuing to show his skill. Drama would unfold at turn one, with Rinaldi running into the back of Razgatlioglu, causing the Italian to crash.

Bautista extended his lead to over eight seconds, continuing to show his incredible form in 2023. At the line, Alvaro Bautista would take the race win, with Toprak Razgatlioglu and Axel Bassani rounding out the podium. Jonathan Rea ended his weekend in fourth, 20.1 seconds behind, with Vierge behind in fifth.

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Image credit: Ducati Media