WorldSBK Assen Race 2 Results | Bautista benefits big as Razgatlioglu, Rea crash

Alvaro Bautista picks up the pieces and maximum points with victory in Race 2 at Assen as Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea crash out in dramatic clash

Álvaro Bautista - Aruba.it Ducati, 2022 WorldSBK

Alvaro Bautista moved clear at the head of the 2022 WorldSBK Championship standings after securing a clear Race 2 victory at Assen in the wake of key rivals Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea colliding and crashing out.

In a dramatic twist to another pulsating weekend in which the Ducati-Kawasaki-Yamaha trio proved yet again the class of the field, their five-race run of locking out the podium positions came to an abrupt conclusion when Rea and Razgatlioglu skidded out in a bizarre incident on lap six.

Razgatlioglu - having led from turn one - appeared to run deep into the opening right-hander, sending him wide on the kerbs, in turn inviting the close-following Rea to line-up a pass on the run to Turn 2. However, angled for the same racing line from either unsighted side of one another, contact that clipped both to the ground and into the gravel trap.

Though Race Direction will have the final say on whether there was fault to be attributed, it is nonetheless the first time the 2021 WorldSBK title fighters have failed to finish as a result of contact between the pair. 

Their loss was Bautista’s gain, however, with the Spaniard getting the anchors down in avoidance to keep going. Despite slipping to second briefly behind a fortuitous Iker Lecuona, Bautista quickly resumed the lead, proceeding to sprint home the winner by a clear 8.7secs. 

Negating Rea’s two victories earlier in the weekend, Bautista win puts him back into the lead of the standings, 18 points up on the Ulsterman, with Razgatlioglu already 45 points off the top.

Jumping from fifth to first thanks to the drama ahead, Lecuona made the most of his fortune to consolidate a strong podium-position throughout, even if he couldn’t resist the hard charging Andrea Locatelli late on.

The Italian landed his first rostrum of the year to save some grace for Yamaha, Locatelli chased home by ex-MotoGP rider Lecuona, who secured a first podium on his second WorldSBK outing, while his efforts are in turn only a fourth top three finish for Honda since 2020.

In fourth, Alex Lowes bounced back in a fierce fight in the pack to secure a welcome result after issues earlier in the day, while Axel Bassani was impressive as he picked up a top five finish on the Motocorsa Ducati.

Both riders, however, had to work hard against Scott Redding, who lit up the Dutch venue with a fighting ride that suggested he has found a way with the BMW M 1000 RR. Running as high as fourth, he’d eventually settle for a still much improved sixth at the flag.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi was a lonely seventh, ahead of Michael van der Mark, the home hero grinding out a run to eighth on the BMW from Xavi Vierge and Lucas Mahias.

Roberto Tamburini, Christophe Ponsson, the returning Leon Haslam, Luca Bernardi and Leandro Mercado completed the points’ paying results, the latter scoring his and MIE Honda’s first digits of the year.

2022 WorldSBK Championship | Assen, Netherlands | Race 2 RESULTS

2022 WorldSBK Championship | Assen, Netherlands | Race 2 RESULTS | Round 2 / 12
PosRiderNat.WorldSBK TeamSuperbikeTiming
1Alvaro BautistaESPAruba Racing DucatiDucati Panigale V4 R21 Laps
2Andrea LocatelliITAPata YamahaYamaha R1+8.770
3Iker LecuonaESPTeam HRCHonda CBR1000RR-R+11.580
4Alex LowesGBRKawasaki Racing TeamKawasaki ZX-10RR+13.329
5Axel BassaniITAMotocorsa RacingDucati Panigale V4 R+14.490
6Scott ReddingGBRBMW MotorradBMW M 1000 RR+14.672
7Michael Ruben RinaldiITAAruba Racing DucatiDucati Panigale V4 R+23.374
8Michael van der MarkNEDBMW MotorradBMW M 1000 RR+28.511
9Xavi ViergeESPTeam HRCHonda CBR1000RR-R+29.067
10Lucas MahiasFRAPuccetti RacingKawasaki ZX-10RR+29.434
11Roberto TamburiniITAMotoxracing TeamYamaha R1+36.810
12Christophe PonssonFRAGil Motor SportYamaha R1+36.814
13Leon HaslamGBRTPR Pedercini RacingKawasaki ZX-10RR+37.000
14Luca BernardiSMRBarni Spark RacingDucati Panigale V4 R+38.862
15Leandro MercadoARGMIE Racing TeamHonda CBR1000RR-R+41.674
16Gabriele RuiuITABMax RacingBMW M 1000 RR+51.252
17Hafizh SyahrinMALMIE Racing TeamHonda CBR1000RR-R+51.382
18Oliver KonigCZEOrelac VerdNaturaKawasaki ZX-10RR+>1m
DNFJonathan ReaGBRKawasaki Racing TeamKawasaki ZX-10RR 
DNFToprak RazgatliogluTURPata YamahaYamaha R1 
DNFPhilipp OettlGERTeam GoElevenDucati Panigale V4 R 
DNFLoris BazFRABonovo Action BMWBMW M 1000 RR 
DNFGarrett GerloffUSAGRT Yamaha TeamYamaha R1 
DNFKohta NozaneJPNGRT Yamaha TeamYamaha R1 
DNSEugene LavertyIRLBonovo Action BMWBMW M 1000 RR