WorldSBK Misano Superpole Results | Alvaro Bautista lands first pole since 2019

Alvaro Bautista scores pole position on Ducati's home soil in Misano ahead of Round 4 for the 2022 WorldSBK Championship; Title rivals complete front row

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

Alvaro Bautista will start a WorldSBK race from qualified pole position for the first time since 2019 as he ratcheted up the pressure on his title rivals at Misano.

Coming into this weekend’s fourth round of the 2022 WorldSBK Championship armed with a 17 point lead over Jonathan Rea and a 52 point advantage over defending champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, Bautista struck the last remaining box off his Ducati return checklist around the Italian circuit.

Setting his benchmark with just over three minutes of the session remaining, neither Razgatlioglu nor Rea - who complete the front row in second and third - were able to respond to the in-form Spaniard.

It marks the ex-MotoGP rider’s fifth career WorldSBK pole position and his since the penultimate round of the 2019 WorldSBK season in Argentina.

On row two, the so-called ‘second riders’ trio of Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes, Ducati’s Michael Ruben Rinaldi - a double winner in Misano last season - and Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli follow up in fourth, fifth and sixth.

Xavi Vierge got the better of Honda team-mate Iker Lecuona to place seventh in their own private battle, though the latter did well to recover to eighth after a crash early in the session at Turn 4.

Scott Redding completes row three of the fastest of the BMWs, with top privateer Axel Bassani rounding out the top ten.

2022 WorldSBK Championship | Misano, Italy | Superpole Qualifying RESULTS

2022 WorldSBK Championship | Misano, Italy | Superpole Qualifying RESULTS | Round 4 / 12
PosRiderNat.WorldSBK TeamSuperbikeTiming
1Alvaro BautistaESPAruba Racing DucatiDucati Panigale V4 R1m 33.328
2Toprak RazgatliogluTURPata YamahaYamaha R11m 33.465
3Jonathan ReaGBRKawasaki Racing TeamKawasaki ZX-10RR1m 33.518
4Alex LowesGBRKawasaki Racing TeamKawasaki ZX-10RR1m 33.669
5Michael Ruben RinaldiITAAruba Racing DucatiDucati Panigale V4 R1m 33.674
6Andrea LocatelliITAPata YamahaYamaha R11m 33.949
7Xavi ViergeESPTeam HRCHonda CBR1000RR-R1m 33.991
8Iker LecuonaESPTeam HRCHonda CBR1000RR-R1m 33.999
9Scott ReddingGBRBMW MotorradBMW M 1000 RR1m 34.039
10Axel BassaniITAMotocorsa RacingDucati Panigale V4 R1m 34.117
11Garrett GerloffUSAGRT Yamaha TeamYamaha R11m 34.514
12Loris BazFRABonovo Action BMWBMW M 1000 RR1m 34.520
13Philipp OettlESPTeam GoElevenDucati Panigale V4 R1m 34.530
14Roberto TamburiniITAMotoxracing TeamYamaha R11m 34.654
15Eugene LavertyIRLBonovo Action BMWBMW M 1000 RR1m 34.723
16Kohta NozaneJPNGRT Yamaha TeamYamaha R11m 34.939
17Christophe PonssonFRAGil Motor SportYamaha R11m 34.994
18Hafizh SyahrinMALMIE Racing TeamHonda CBR1000RR-R1m 35.315
19Tito RabatFRAPuccetti RacingKawasaki ZX-10RR1m 35.420
20Gabriele RuiuITABMax RacingBMW M 1000 RR1m 35.462
21Luca BernardiSMRBarni Spark RacingDucati Panigale V4 R1m 35.614
22Leandro MercadoARGMIE Racing TeamHonda CBR1000RR-R1m 35.746
23Ilya MikhalchikUKRBMW MotorradBMW M 1000 RR1m 35.813
24Oliver KonigCZEOrelac VerdNaturaKawasaki ZX-10RR1m 36.209
25Alessandro DelbiancoITATPR Pedercini RacingKawasaki ZX-10RR1m 36.494

Sponsored Content