The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship concluded its action at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” for the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed his second victory of the weekend with a 7 second margin after an early-race battle with reigning Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), making it a double for Ducati on home soil.

DUCATI DOUBLE AT MISANO: two wins out of three for the Bologna manufacturer

Bautista found himself behind Razgatlioglu from the opening lap and looked to make a move on several occasions, first on Lap 4 through Curvone before Razgatlioglu responded into Turn 14 before the same result a couple of laps later. On Lap 7, Bautista did make his move at Curvone and Razgatlioglu was unable to respond, allowing Bautista to clear on for his second win of the weekend and the 22^nd victory of his career, putting him level with Marco Melandri. Razgatlioglu’s second place meant he claimed the 63^rd podium in his WorldSBK career. The results mean Bautista has a 36-point in the Championship standings after four rounds in 2022.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) battled his way up from 10^th on the grid to claim a second podium of the weekend, and the season, after making a move on Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) on the third lap of the race. Rinaldi now has 12 podiums to his name, including five on home soil, putting him level with Gregorio Lavilla and Chris Walker. After Rinaldi’s move, Rea lost ground to the Italian but also kept a clear margin to the riders behind him to finish in fourth place, the first time this season Rea has finished a race outside the podium places.

TAKING HOME A TOP EIGHT FINISH: drama throughout the race

Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) claimed fifth place to claim his sixth top-five finish in the first 12 races of the season, although he had to fend off a late charge from Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing). Bassani once again got a good start to fight in the top group but dropped back before stabilising his pace at around the halfway mark of the race. After losing out at the start of the race, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) battled his way to sixth place for the third sixth-place finish of the round for the Italian, making a late move on Bassani at the end of the race.

Bassani came home in seventh place despite losing out after making his superb start, benefitting from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) being given a Long Lap Penalty for track limits infringements in the race. Lowes had got ahead of both Locatelli and Bassani, but, after taking his penalty, finished in eighth place.

RACE 2 POINTS SCORERS: completing the top 16

Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had a rollercoaster race as he finished in ninth place, despite dropping down in the early stages of the race, to record a top-ten finish. He finished ahead of the lead BMW rider with Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) rounding out the top ten, 11 seconds behind Redding at the end of the 21-lap race.

Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) and Roberto Tamburini (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) had a late-race fight for 11^th place with the German rider just edging out Tamburini by less than a second. It was another comeback for Sammarinese rider Luca Bernardi (BARNI Spark Racing Team) as he finished in 13^th place after starting from 20^th. BMW duo Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) and Illia Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) rounded out the points with 14^th and 15^th respectively.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from Race 2

Kohta Nozane (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished in 16^th place after spending much of the race in the points, before being overhauled late on. Substitute rider Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) finished in 17^th place ahead of Leandro Mercado (MIE Racing Honda Team) and Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in 18^th and 19^th respectively; the final two riders classified in the race.

The first retirement from the race was American rider Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) when he crashed at Turn 16 on Lap 3, while wildcard Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing) was out of the race on Lap 4 with a technical issue. Italian rider Alessandro Delbianco (TPR Team Pedercini Racing) brought his bike into the pits with a technical issue, while Hafizh Syahrin (MIE Racing Honda Team) also retired with a technical issue on Lap 8 at Turn 10. After a strong start to the race, Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) had a crash at Turn 11 on Lap 12 which ended his race; the Spanish rookie was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. Following examination, Vierge was diagnosed with a fracture of the base of his third metacarpal bone in his right hand and fractures of the capitate and hamate bones in his right wrist. An incident between Vierge and Bassani will be investigated after the race by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards.

The top six following WorldSBK Race 2, full results here:

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +7.194s

3. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +11.119s

4. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +14.901s

5. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +18.774s

6. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +20.217s

Fastest lap: Alvaro Bautista, Ducati – 1’34.255 – Lap 8

1 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 220 points.

2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 184

3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 141

4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) 108

5. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) 99

6. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 92

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