REVIEW: ROUND 2, MANDALIKA - Toprak wins, Bautista crashes and Vierge shines
Round 2 of the year came from Indonesia and Mandalika, where – like in the previous two visits – drama was on order
After the shaken-up order of Round 1 in Australia, the 2023 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship headed back west – albeit slightly – to Indonesia for one of the most tropical rounds of the season on Lombok. The second round didn’t disappoint either, with plenty of ups and downs to take note of. Enjoy our round recap of Race 1 and Race 2 here, whilst the Superpole Race is on YouTube here – don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE!
Race 1 in went to Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) whilst Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) had a horror show, slipping to P9 at the end. A red flag at the start of the Superpole Race opened Sunday action with a bang, but it got worse for Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), who got his leg run hit by Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) whilst braking for Turn 10, leaving him with several fractures. The biggest moment came when Rea went to pass Bautista at Turn 12, pushing him off-line and the #1 crashed out. In Race 2, another red flag with a crash for Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) halted Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) charge to a win, meaning that on the restart, he didn’t have a new tyre. Caught in the final laps by Bautista who went on to win, Rinaldi ran off on the last lap at Turn 10, allowing Razgatlioglu and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) to complete the podium, a first for Vierge; Rinaldi took P4. Bautista led Razgatlioglu in the title race by 37 points heading for Europe.
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