WSBK: Round 1 – Aragon – Who was where

For anyone who is new to World Superbike racing it is slightly different to MotoGP. After the qualifying session there are three races across the World Superbike weekend. Race one and race two are full race distance. However, in between race one and race two there is a Superpole race which is only ten laps long. The Superpole race changes the grid as the top nine finishers from this race start in the top nine in race three.

The first weekend of World Superbike racing has finished at Motorland Aragon. Toprak Razgatlioglu started from pole for race one and the Superpole race after qualifying at the front.

Round One:

Aruba.it Racing Ducati:

Alvaro Bautista:

Alvaro Bautista has had a sensational return to the Ducati outfit as he finished runner up in race one. But Bautista did not stop there. The Spaniard wanted to return with a bang as he obliterated the field on Sunday. The number 19 ran away in the Superpole race and race two, he now leads the world championship after round one.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi:

Michael Ruben Rinaldi had a solid start to the 2022 season. The Italian rider qualified in fourth pace, and clearly liked fourth place. For all three races this weekend Rinaldi found himself crossing the line in fourth place. Rinaldi now sits fourth in the championship.

Kawasaki Racing Team:

Jonathan Rea:

The six time champion, Jonathan Rea started his hunt for a seventh world title with a stellar performance. The Northern Irish rider won the opening race of the year after battling with a Yamaha and Ducati all race. The number 65 beat the Ducati to the line at the end of the race after pulling off a final corner maneuver. However, Rea had to settle for second best in the next two races. In the Superpole race and the second race he was destroyed by Bautista.

Alex Lowes:

Alex Lowes had a poor race one as he found himself in the gravel after six laps of racing. However, the Superpole race and race two went better for the Lowes twin. He finished sixth and fifth in the other two races and now sits eighth in the standings.

Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK:

Toprak Razgatlioglu:

The 2021 champion finishes round one without a victory, but there is no need to worry for Razgatlioglu yet. After qualifying on pole on Saturday he could not convert it to race wins, but he did claim podiums. The Turkish rider finished third place in all three races across the weekend. Which is an improvement from 2021. The rider with the number one plate now sits third in the standings.

Andrea Locatelli:

The Italian youngster started his second year in the Superbike class in a good way. Locatelli qualified sixth on Saturday and found himself finishing fifth in both race one and the Superpole race. However, a crash in race two saw him only manage a 19th place finish. Locatelli ends round on in seventh overall in the standings.

Team HRC:

Iker Lecuona:

The Superbike rookie starts his life with HRC in an incredible way. Lecuona finished in the top ten in all of the opening three races. In race one Lecuona crossed the line sixth place, which was his best result of the weekend. In the Superpole race he finished eighth and then ten in race two. Lecuona sits fifth overall after his first races on a Honda Superbike.

Xavi Vierge:

Another Honda World Superbike rookie who had an amazing start to the 2022 is ex-Moto2 rider, Vierge. The Spanish rider finished seventh, ninth and eighth in the opening three races of the season. Vierge now stands sixth overall in the standings.

Bonovo Action BMW:

Loris Baz:

The French rider makes his World Superbike return once again as he is riding with BMW this time. After a slow start to the weekend as he finished 11th and 13th in the opening two races. However, race two turned Baz’s weekend around as he finished seventh. Baz is top BMW at the end of round one as he sits ninth overall.

Eugene Laverty:

The Irish rider had a decent start to his season as he was around the top ten all weekend. Laverty stuck with BMW for 2022 and is now the most experienced BMW rider on the grid. Results of 10th, 11th and 12th this weekend is a good way to start the season and puts him 12th overall.

GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team:

Garrett Gerloff:

The young American looked like he would fight at the front this weekend. However, after a poor qualifying session his weekend never really got going. Gerloff finished ninth, tenth and ninth in the opening round of 2022. The American sits tenth overall in the championship.

Kohta Nozane:

Once again it was a poor weekend for the Japanese Yamaha rider. His 2022 started with 18th, 18th and a crash in the three races.

Motocorsa Racing:

Axel Bassani:

Axel Bassani had another good weekend in the World Superbike class. The Italian rider finished 16th, seventh and sixth throughout the weekend as he improved throughout the weekend. Bassani now sits 11th overall and will only improve this season.

BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team:

Illia Mykhalchyk:

The Ukrainian rider stood in for Michael van der Mark this weekend and was rather impressive. Mykhalchyk finished eighth and 15th but he crashed out of the Superpole race. Mykhalchyk now sits 13th overall.

Scott Redding:

Life at BMW has not started well for Redding as he leaves round one with one point. Redding finished 15th and 12th, but did not finish the final race of the weekend after dropping back to 25th. The British rider finds himself in 18th in the standings.

Kawasaki Puccetti Racing:

Lucas Mahias:

Mahias had a decent start to the 2022 season for Puccetti Kawasaki. The French rider bought his bike across the line in 14th, 14th and 11th. Mahias finds himself down in 14th in the standings.

Team GoEleven Ducati:

Philipp Oettl:

The German World Superbike rookie started his year off in point scoring positions. The Ducati rider finished 13th, 16th and 13th in the opening weekend of the season. Oettl is now 15th overall.

Barni Spark Racing Team:

Luca Bernardi:

The Ducati rider scored points in the season opener for the Barni Ducati squad. With results of 12th, 15th and 16th it has been a decent start for the Sammarinese.

Yamaha MotoXRacing WorldSBK Team:

Roberto Tamburini:

The Italian Yamaha rider looked amazing in preseason testing but it did not carry over to racing. However, he did score points as he finished 16th, 15th and 14th.