(Motorsport-Total.com) – Ducati factory rider Alvaro Bautista has secured victory in the second main race of the Superbike World Championship in Misano (see race results). Bautista drove to another confident victory and celebrated a perfect weekend with three victories for the third time in a row. Behind Bautista, things got dramatic. Ducati team-mate Michael Rinaldi drove into the rear wheel of Toprak Razgatlioglu’s Yamaha and retired.

Alvaro Bautista was also on pole in the final race thanks to his victory in the sprint race (see the race report from the Superpole race). Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael Rinaldi completed the front row.

Loris Baz (Bonovo-BMW) had to switch to the spare motorcycle after a problem with his BMW. The BMW engine of the racing machine went up in smoke on the lap to the starting grid.

Toprak Razgatlioglu won the sprint to the first corner. The Turk took the lead in the first corners. Alvaro Bautista was surprised in turn 4 by his teammate Michael Rinaldi, who moved into second position. On the back straight, Bautista overtook Rinaldi again.

Behind them, there was a tough duel on the first lap between Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa-Ducati). Rea pushed Bassani off the line and took fourth position. Bassani lost two positions as a result of the maneuver, as Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) was also able to slip through.

Toprak Razgatlioglu risks a lot against the two factory Ducatis

On lap two, Bautista overtook Razgatlioglu. The Spaniard accelerated much better out of turn 6 and had an easy time. Rinaldi also put pressure on Razgatlioglu and overtook him on lap three. At the exit of turn 6, the Ducatis were clearly superior.

The duel between Razgatlioglu and Rinaldi played into Bautista’s hands. Within one lap, the series winner had built up a one-second lead. The lead grew from lap to lap.

Behind Rinaldi and Razgatlioglu, Bassani was able to fight his way past the two factory Kawasakis again and started to pursue Razgatlioglu. Bassani kept losing time due to small mistakes.

© Ducati

Rea tried to keep up with the Ducati with number 47. Lowes was in sixth place for a long time, but retired after a third of the race distance due to a crash in turn 4. The Briton remained uninjured.

Bautista drove a lonely race at the front. Teammate Rinaldi was doing his laps in second position, but was unable to pull away from Razgatlioglu. Bassani and Rea were already more than ten seconds behind at the halfway point of the race.

Three seconds slower: Scott Redding slips out of the top 15

The race was absolutely disappointing for Scott Redding. The BMW factory driver slipped out of the points halfway through the race. Redding drove three seconds slower per lap and was easy prey for his opponents. Brand colleague Garrett Gerloff at least held his own in the top 10, but BMW was only fifth in Misano.

With seven laps to go, Razgatlioglu overtook Rinaldi at turn 8 and took second place. For local hero Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94-Yamaha), the race ended prematurely after a fall.

Michael Rinaldi collides with Toprak Razgatlioglu’s rear wheel

With six laps to go, Rinaldi misjudged the braking for Turn 1. The Italian’s front wheel touched the rear wheel of Razgatlioglu’s Yamaha and he crashed. This allowed fellow countryman Bassani to move up to third place.

Bautista was oblivious to the drama behind him and cruised to another victory. The world champion had built up a lead of ten seconds and celebrated his 14th victory in 15 races at Ducati’s home event.

Razgatlioglu finished the race without any pressure after Rinaldi’s retirement and collected 20 points for second place. After Assen and Barcelona, ​​Razgatlioglu had to watch Bautista win all three races in one weekend for the third time in a row in Misano. In the championship, Razgatlioglu is already 86 points behind (overall).

Axel Bassani makes it to the podium and recommends himself for 2024

Bassani made it onto the podium in the final race, making him the best independent rider. Rea had no answer and did not make it onto the podium in any of the three races in Misano. Fifth place went to Honda rider Xavi Vierge, who was already 22 seconds behind.

Yamaha factory rider Andrea Locatelli finished the race in sixth place. Danilo Petrucci was narrowly beaten and was classified in seventh place. Garrett Gerloff brought BMW into the top 8. Philipp Öttl (GoEleven-Ducati) was ninth, Remy Gardner (GRT-Yamaha) completed the top 10.

Dominique Aegerter (GRT-Yamaha) was unable to repeat Saturday’s strong top-6 finish and crossed the line in P11. Loris Baz drove the spare machine to P12. Behind him were his BMW brand colleagues Tom Sykes and Scott Redding, who were 38 and 52 seconds behind respectively. Hafizh Syahrin (MIE-Honda) took the final point. Only 16 riders crossed the line.

The 2023 WSBK season will continue in four weeks in Donington (Great Britain).