Misano WorldSBK Race 2 Results | Alvaro Bautista extends lead with sixth win
Alvaro Bautista extends his WorldSBK Championship lead to 36 points with a sixth victory of the season at Misano from Toprak Razgatlioglu
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54 years 8 monthsAlvaro Bautista moved further clear at the head of the 2022 WorldSBK Championship standings with another resounding victory in the second race of the weekend in Misano.
After romping to victory in Race 1 following a tussle with Jonathan Rea, the Ducati rider squared up against Toprak Razgatlioglu for honours in Race 2 but would prove too strong for the Turk as he sprinted home a clear seven second winner.
Buoyed by his return to the winners’ circle in the Superpole Race, Razgatlioglu powered into an early lead by getting the hole-shot into Turn 1 before repelling a pass by Bautista mid-way around the opening lap at Curvone to complete the opening lap in front.
Despite briefly slipping to third as Rea piled into the action, Bautista quickly returned the favour on the Kawasaki rider before resuming his efforts against Razgatlioglu ahead.
While a first attempt at passing on lap four was met with the gritty response from Razgatlioglu as he surged back past at Turn 14, a cool Bautista maintained the pressure on his rival, eventually landing a decisive pass for the lead on lap seven.
From here the Spaniard wasn’t headed again, with Razgatlioglu’s attempts to go with him coming up short as the Ducati rider multiplied his advantage to victory by a clear margin by the flag.
A sixth win in 12 races for the ex-MotoGP rider, Bautista comes away from Misano having now scored a victory in each of the opening four rounds.
Coupled with Rea finishing off the podium in fourth place, the margin between the pair has swelled to 36 points.
After losing yet more ground in the title race with an untimely technical DNF in Race 1, a win and a second place on Sunday helped Razgatlioglu end the weekend positively, though he remains a sizeable 74 points adrift of Bautista now.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi recovered for his second podium finish of the weekend, the Italian’s strong start rewarded with a scalp over Rea, who after losing third to the Ducati rider early on, had to settle for fourth.
Iker Lecuona completed a brace of Sunday fifth place finishes on the Honda, the Spaniard making up for Xavi Vierge crashing out of sixth position on lap 11 after an apparent collision with Axel Bassani, the Motocorsa Racing rider staying upright to finish seventh behind Andrea Locatelli.
Alex Lowes was on course for sixth before a long lap penalty for track limit violations demoted him to eighth, with Scott Redding and Loris Baz completing the top ten for BMW.
2022 WorldSBK Championship | Misano, Italy | Race 2 RESULTS
2022 WorldSBK Championship | Misano, Italy | Race 2 RESULTS | Round 4 / 12 | |||||
Pos | Rider | Nat. | WorldSBK Team | Superbike | Timing |
1 | Alvaro Bautista | ESP | Aruba Racing Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 21 Laps |
2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | Pata Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | +7.194 |
3 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | ITA | Aruba Racing Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +11.119 |
4 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +14.901 |
5 | Iker Lecuona | ESP | Team HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R | +18.774 |
6 | Andrea Locatelli | ITA | Pata Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | +20.217 |
7 | Axel Bassani | ITA | Motocorsa Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +21.149 |
8 | Alex Lowes | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +23.533 |
9 | Scott Redding | GBR | BMW Motorrad | BMW M 1000 RR | +29.638 |
10 | Loris Baz | FRA | Bonovo Action BMW | BMW M 1000 RR | +38,831 |
11 | Philipp Oettl | ESP | Team GoEleven | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +40,881 |
12 | Roberto Tamburini | ITA | Motoxracing Team | Yamaha R1 | +41.588 |
13 | Luca Bernardi | SMR | Barni Spark Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | +43.353 |
14 | Eugene Laverty | IRL | Bonovo Action BMW | BMW M 1000 RR | +43.833 |
15 | Ilya Mikhalchik | UKR | BMW Motorrad | BMW M 1000 RR | +44.697 |
16 | Kohta Nozane | JPN | GRT Yamaha Team | Yamaha R1 | +49.375 |
17 | Tito Rabat | FRA | Puccetti Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1 > |
18 | Leandro Mercado | ARG | MIE Racing Team | Honda CBR1000RR-R | +1 > |
19 | Oliver Konig | CZE | Orelac VerdNatura | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | |
DNF | Hafizh Syahrin | MAL | MIE Racing Team | Honda CBR1000RR-R | |
DNF | Alessandro Delbianco | ITA | TPR Pedercini Racing | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | |
DNF | Gabriele Ruiu | ITA | BMax Racing | BMW M 1000 RR | |
DNF | Garrett Gerloff | USA | GRT Yamaha Team | Yamaha R1 | |
DNF | Xavi Vierge | ESP | Team HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R | |
DNS | Christophe Ponsson | FRA | Gil Motor Sport | Yamaha R1 |