Bautista caps dream weekend in Australia with exhibition

3 out of 3. Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) signed a spectacular plenary session at Phillip Island this Sunday.Round weekend saw the Spanish driver start the championship as the clear leader with a commanding victory in race two.

This time Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati) finished second and Andrea Locatelli finished on the podium.

The Ducati duo used their privileged position on the grid to take command after signing a 1-2 finish in the sprint race when the traffic lights go out. His third rider on the front row, he Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) had a poor start and lost several positions in the opening minutes. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team World SBK) also started from the 3rd row and made great progress.

Halfway through the test, Bautista gained an advantage of around three seconds over Rinaldi.Locatelli also settled in 3rd place, but a little further away.

The battle took place in a chase group, with Lowes, Rea, Bassani and Razgatlioglu with a knife in their mouth for fourth place, while Phillip Oettl (Team GoEleven) picked up the pace and joined the quartet. But the field broke dramatically when Lowes lost control of his ZX-10RR at Turn 4 and took Razgatlioglu, who was unable to avoid mounting the British rider.

There was no change in podium position, but there were more changes in the chasing pack towards the end of the race.Ettl overtook Rea, who was clearly struggling to keep pace, and moved into fifth behind Bassani. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) was also able to overtake his six-time Kawasaki champion with two laps to go.

An unstoppable Bautista all weekend, dry or wet, he crossed the finish line six seconds ahead of Rinaldi. It was the third of the weekend and the eighth of his WorldSBK career to claim victory, a new record for a rider to win on this stage.

Talavellano also signed his fifth ‘hat-trick’, the second for Australia after the one he did in 2019.was an unprecedented success among WorldSBK riders until this past Sunday.

Iker Lecuona fought a variety of battles over 22 laps. It all started with an official first duel with the Kawasaki before colliding with Bassani on lap 10 while battling for eighth place.

The Valencian made progress in the final third of the race to pass sixthahead of rookie Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha World SBK Team).

Bautista after achieving a ‘hat trick’ With 34 points for Locatelli and 31 for Rhea, 62 points put Phillip Island at the top of the World Cup with a considerable advantage.Razgatlioglu is sixth with 23 and Lecuona is seventh with 22.

Superbike riders will be put to the test again next weekend at the Indonesia and Mandalika circuits.

Australian Grand Prix

race 2

1. Alvaro Bautista (Ducati)
2. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati) +6.191s
3. Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) +9.099s
4. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +11.680s
5. Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) +12.020s
6. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +13.701s

fast lap: Alvaro Bautista, Ducati – 1.29.584s

super bike

Championship ranking

1. Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) 62 points
2. Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) 34
3. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) 31
4. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Ducati) 31
5. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa racing) 25
6. Toprak Razgatriol (Yamaha) 23