WSBK: Rea And Lowes Battle Whilst Bautista Marches On

Alvaro Bautista continued his truly incredible start to the season by making it 8 wins from 8, as he claimed victory in the Superpole Race, at Motorland Aragon.

Very cold and blustery conditions – 10 degrees air temperature, 16 degrees track temperature – once again greeted the riders as the main race day began in the Spanish desert.

As with SBK Race 1, the starting grid for the sprint was determined by qualifying positions from Saturday’s Superpole session. One rider who would play no part in today’s events was Leandro Mercado (Orelac Racing Kawasaki). The Argentine crashed heavily during the race on Saturday and was declared unfit overnight after fracturing his scaphoid bone in his left hand.

Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati), as has become customary so far in 2019, hooked up a perfect launch off the line and cleared off up the road. Although the finishing margin was a relatively meager 5.5 seconds – the Spaniard has averaged close to 15 seconds over the first two rounds – he was always in complete control of the race. Having secured a manageable gap, he rolled off the power to save the best of his machine for SBK Race 2 later on today.

Jonathan Rea (KRT) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha) continued their new found rivalry, engaging in another fiercely entertaining scrap over P2 and P3. Rea has been having to do it the hard way this weekend, after botching superpole on Saturday, forcing him to start way down on the grid in tenth place. The four-time world champion showed his class, quickly dispatching those in front of him, but once again required all of his experience to get the better of Lowes. They will join Bautista on the front row this afternoon.

Chaz Davies (Aurba.it Ducati) has started to look more like his old self this weekend. The Welshman carved his way through the field, clearing the likes of Eugene Laverty (GoEleven Ducati), Tom Sykes (BMW WorldSBK) and Leon Haslam (KRT) with ease. Such was his charge, he caught Rea and Lowes in the closing stages of the race. Although he was ultimately not able to secure a top three finish, he will be more than satisfied heading the second row for SBK Race 2.

The happiest man in the field after the superpole race will undoubtedly be Sykes. The 2013 world champion comfortably held off Laverty and Haslam – both with superior straight line speed – and pulled clear in the closing stages. BMW have brought a new aerodynamic fairing package to this weekend, and the performance gains through the numerous sweeping corners have negated the shortfall of their stock engine.

There was disappointment though for the likes of Michael Van der Mark (Pata Yamaha) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Barni Racing Ducati). Both riders colliding in the melee at turn 1 on the opening lap. From the replays it looked like Rinaldi lost the front end of his machine and unfortunately collected his rival as he slid off the track. Van der Mark was able to continue after the incident, but could do no better than P15.

WorldSBK Race 2 gets underway at 1pm UK time.