WorldSBK Estoril Race 1 Results | Bautista battles back to grab last gasp win

Alvaro Bautista completes a superb Race 1 comeback over his WorldSBK title rivals at Estoril by snatching victory on the run to the chequered flag

Alvaro Bautista - Aruba.it Ducati
Alvaro Bautista - Aruba.it Ducati

Alvaro Bautista has taken an extraordinary fourth WorldSBK win of the season in Estoril after completing a dramatic and unexpected comeback from a lap one error to snatch victory from Toprak Razgatlioglu in the sprint for the finish line.

In a race that barely featured the Spaniard until the closing stages, it appeared victory would instead go the way of either Razgatlioglu or Jonathan Rea, who spent two-thirds of the race engaged in a cat-and-mouse battle for the lead.

However, after swapping the lead on nine occasions - a couple of which were spurred on by mistakes under braking that invited the other through - the persistent battling ultimately allowed Bautista back into the fray from a margin of 2.4secs back at one stage, culminating in him out-dragging the Yamaha on the run to the chequered flag..

Indeed, the Ducati rider got a strong start from the front row but after out-braking himself into Turn 1, proceeded to get bottled up behind Andrea Locatelli for four laps, allowing Razgatlioglu and Rea to get away.

While neither leader helped themselves with errors, first when Rea clipped the back of the Yamaha ahead on lap three to drop back and then when Razgatlioglu got it wrong under braking on lap six to let him through again, Bautista even then never looked in the mix for victory.

However, with the short and technical Estoril circuit showing itself to be easier to follow a rider than lead one, Rea and Razgatlioglu’s persistent swing of momentum would ultimately allow Bautista to close again..

Perhaps the most pivotal moment came with six laps to go when Rea got his braking wrong into Turn 1, allowing Bautista through and immediately on the hunt to catch Razgatlioglu.

Though the Turk played a strong rear guard action against the advancing Spaniard, it wouldn’t matter as they entered the home straight for the final time, the diminutive Bautista close enough to use the Ducati’s power-to-weight advantage to surge past his rival on the run to the finish line, much to Razgatlioglu’s chagrin.

The win - both the manner of it at the end and the circumstances leading up to the finish - will be of major concern to Razgatlioglu and Rea, not least because it sees Bautista unexpectedly swell his championship advantage to 27 points.

Behind Razgatlioglu, Rea ended up a fairly distant third on the Kawasaki, well clear of Locatelli on the second of the Pata Yamahas in fourth position, some 17secs behind.

Xavi Vierge enjoyed a strong Race 1 to lead a Honda 5-6 over team-mate Iker Lecuona, the pair having eventually gotten the better of Scott Redding, the Briton battling hard on the special yellow-livered BMW M 1000 RR early on following run to fourth on the grid, but ultimately fading to eighth behind also Alex Lowes.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi ran wide at the start before recovering to a lowly ninth, while Loris Baz completed the top ten. 

2022 WorldSBK Championship | Estoril, Portugal | Race 1 RESULTS

2022 WorldSBK Championship | Estoril, Portugal | Race 1 RESULTS | Round 3 / 12
PosRiderNat.WorldSBK TeamSuperbikeTiming
1Alvaro BautistaESPAruba Racing DucatiDucati Panigale V4 R21 Laps
2Toprak RazgatliogluTURPata YamahaYamaha R1+0.126
3Jonathan ReaGBRKawasaki Racing TeamKawasaki ZX-10RR+4.835
4Andrea LocatelliITAPata YamahaYamaha R1+17.079
5Xavi ViergeESPTeam HRCHonda CBR1000RR-R+19.107
6Iker LecuonaESPTeam HRCHonda CBR1000RR-R+19.215
7Alex LowesGBRKawasaki Racing TeamKawasaki ZX-10RR+21.956
8Scott ReddingGBRBMW MotorradBMW M 1000 RR+23.090
9Michael Ruben RinaldiITAAruba Racing DucatiDucati Panigale V4 R+24.104
10Loris BazFRABonovo Action BMWBMW M 1000 RR+25.212
11Xavi ForesESPTeam GoElevenDucati Panigale V4 R+27.516
12Axel BassaniITAMotocorsa RacingDucati Panigale V4 R+30.686
13Luca BernardiSMRBarni Spark RacingDucati Panigale V4 R+39.599
14Kohta NozaneJPNGRT Yamaha TeamYamaha R1+39.643
15Eugene LavertyIRLBonovo Action BMWBMW M 1000 RR+41.735
16Marvin FritzGERMotoxracing TeamYamaha R1+41.854
17Lucas MahiasFRAPuccetti RacingKawasaki ZX-10RR+42.790
18Christophe PonssonFRAGil Motor SportYamaha R1+50.082
19Hafizh SyahrinMALMIE Racing TeamHonda CBR1000RR-R+1m >
20Oliver KonigCZEOrelac VerdNaturaKawasaki ZX-10RR+1m >
21Isaac VinalesESPTPR Pedercini RacingKawasaki ZX-10RR+2 Laps
DNFLeandro MercadoARGMIE Racing TeamHonda CBR1000RR-R 
DNSMichael van der MarkNEDBMW MotorradBMW M 1000 RR 
DNSGarrett GerloffUSAGRT Yamaha TeamYamaha R1

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