Tissot Superpole Race Highlights
A race long three rider battle was settled in Alvaro Bautista’s favour on the final lap. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider made the critical overtaking move just three corners from home to defeat Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) on the run to the flag.
Having finished second in Race 1, Razgatlioglu repeated his effort during the Superpole Race. The Turkish rider led 3 laps, and set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 7, but couldn’t hold off the charge of Bautista on the final lap.
Race 1 winner Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) finished in fourth position ahead of Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team).
Race 2 Highlights
Starting from pole position Bautista led every lap to claim the 63rd victory of his WorldSBK career. The Ducati rider was under pressure throughout the 18 lap duration as he traded fastest lap after fastest lap with Razgatlioglu but in the closing three laps Bautista finally broke clear and opened a margin of one second to his rival.
Despite starting third and finishing third it was a difficult day for Bulega. The rookie dropped to ninth position on Lap 2 and gradually eased his way back to the podium midway throughout the race. The Ducati rider moved past Lecuona on Lap 3, Locatelli on Lap 4, van der Mark on Lap 6, Petrucci on Lap 8 before overtaking Iannone and Gerloff on Lap 10 as he showed his speed. However, by the time he was in the podium positions he was already five seconds adrift of the race leaders and had to settle for third position.
Iannone and Gerloff fought for fourth until the chequered flag and at the final corner Gerloff tried to attack but ran wide into Turn 16 and Iannone came back past.
By finishing in eighth position Iker Lecuona moved ahead of his Team HRC teammate, Xavi Vierge, in the standings. Vierge finished tenth as Honda continued their strong run of form.
Championship standings
- Razgatlioglu extended his championship lead to 39 points over Bulega by virtue of finishing third in all three races this weekend.
- Bautista is now 42 points behind his teammate in the standings.
- Danilo Petrucci moved into fourth in the standings. The Barni Spark Racing Team sits 13 points ahead of Alex Lowes with the Kawasaki rider ruled out of action following a crash during the Superpole Race.
- Ducati extended their Manufacturers Championship lead over BMW to 42 points.
P1 | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“I felt really good with the bike today. It was much better than yesterday because I had some problems with the front in Race 1. Today, I was able to fight for the win and in the Superpole Race I made a last-lap overtake. It was a really enjoyable race this morning and for Race 2 it was great at the start because I was able to lead early on and then focus on myself. At the beginning of the race I struggled with the bike’s weight. In the first few laps, it was great to be in the lead and I could set my pace. As the race continued I felt better and could push more. On the last lap I had a gap to Toprak. I want to say a big thanks to my team. They helped me a lot this weekend to regain the confidence I was missing. I can only be happy with today.”
P2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“I did my best at the start of the race. I followed Alvaro and had a plan to stay with him and then maybe to start fighting with him in the last five laps. However, in those final laps my pace started to drop. Alvaro had more grip than the other bikes in the last laps. I was pushing hard, but I could see that the gap was growing. At that point, I settled for second because it wasn’t possible to catch him. In the long corners Alvaro had a big advantage and he did an incredible job. It feels like he’s made a real comeback. I’m happy for him but I’m focused now on Estoril. I need to win there because finishing second is tough for me.”
P3 | Nicolo Bulega | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“The beginning of the race was really difficult because I lost positions with some aggressive riders. I had to pick up the bike in braking and I dropped back to eighth place and I was stuck in the middle of the pack. I managed to recover and reach the podium, but I lost the chance to fight for the top two spots. Alvaro and Toprak both did a great job, congratulations to them. I’ll try again next time.”
WorldSBK Race 2 Results
1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +3.366s
3. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +10.800s
4. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) +12.338s
5. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) +13.903s
6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +14.647s
Championship Standings
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 414 points
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 375 points
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 333 points
WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race Results
1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.088s
3. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.172s
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