After winning the Superpole Race, the Northern Irishman also triumphed by a narrow margin in Race 2
Race 2 highlights - WorldSBK
P1 - Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
- Race 2 saw Jonathan Rea make his 350th start and take his 117th career win.
- In both the Tissot Superpole Race (ahead of Razgatlioglu) and Race 2 (ahead of Bautista), he won by under 0.2s.
- He reduced Bautista’s lead in the Championship standings to just 17 points.
"He did a really good job and I could use his slipstream on the start straight just to claw back a few kilometres, even though he was going away it was just enough to keep me there. I made a good Turn 1, by Turn 3 I was already there so I could be calmer at the rest of the track just to stay there. When it came to plotting a last lap move, I made a mistake with two laps to go and I had to arrive. It was really tough."
"I thought ‘should I make a big lunge into six?’ but he had such good traction through Turns 4 and 5 and along the back straight so it would’ve been too much. My mechanical traction from six was incredible. Parked the bike on the apex of Turn 7 and saw what I could do. He cut back again and then I thought about the chicane. Just go, park it on the apex, and try to cover my line. It was enough although I had a big slide at the last corner. I thought he was going to get me on the line, so I tried to make myself as small as possible. It was really, really exciting especially when you come out on top in a race like that.”
P2 - Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
P2 - Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
- Bautista led most of the second half of the race before being overtaken by Rea in Turn 9 on the last lap.
- The Spanish rider claimed his ninth consecutive podium meaning he is the only rider who has stand on the podium of all 2022 races.
- He maintained his Championship lead, despite Rea recovering points on Sunday at Estoril.
"That’s all. Then I had to change the line and there was a bit of a gap to him on the exit of the chicane. I was too far and especially on the last lap, in the last sector, it started to rain so I just made the last corner without feeling the rear tyre slide, so I couldn’t do what I did yesterday, but I am happy that we fought until the end for victory.”
P3 - Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
- Despite leading the race at points, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) dropped back from the lead duo to settle for third place.
- He claimed his 61st podium, equaling Frankie Chili and James Toseland.
- He is third in the Championship standings, 52 points behind Bautista and 35 points behind Rea.
"In the Superpole Race, my small mistake means I almost crashed. Sometimes, I see the chequered flag and it’s not possible to see it first. We take good points in the Championship, and I hope at Misano, we’re fighting for the win.”
P4 – Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
P4 – Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
- Having fought for the podium after a difficult Friday and Saturday, Lowes took fourth place after running wide at Turn 1 on Lap 14.
- He claimed his joint best result of the season so far.
"I’ve felt like the bike was working really well toward the end of the race. So I started in sixth position in the last race. I thought that if I made a good start maybe I could stay with the guys, at least for the first few laps. Unfortunately, in the last part of the race I started dropping off. But I can finish the weekend with some confidence and feeling positive.”
P5 - Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
P6 - Iker Lecuona (Team HRC)
P5 - Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)
- Locatelli took fifth place as he finished just 0.077s ahead of Lecuona, his six consecutive top six finish.
- The Italian rider is fourth in the Championship standings, trailing his teammate by 25 points away.
P6 - Iker Lecuona (Team HRC)
- With his six place in Race 2, the Spanish Rookie made it a hat-trick of top six finishes for his first visit to Estoril.
- He now stands in fifth place in the Championship standings, 8 points behind Locatelli.
"I finished in sixth place very close from the first group, less than 9 seconds away.. We fought with Alex, we recovered on Locatelli. Very happy with the team because we made a big step up this weekend.”
To note:
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) had an eventful race as he moved up the order to claim a top seven finish. He now is the top Independent rider with 43 points.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) and Xavi Fores (Team Goeleven) completed the top ten. Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK – Ducati) was the leading BMW rider in eleventh.
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) did not take part in Race 2 after he sustained a fracture to his right fifth metacarpal bone following a crash in the Tissot Superpole Race.
The Emilia-Romagna Round will take place from the 10th to 12th of June at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”.
To note:
Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) had an eventful race as he moved up the order to claim a top seven finish. He now is the top Independent rider with 43 points.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) and Xavi Fores (Team Goeleven) completed the top ten. Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK – Ducati) was the leading BMW rider in eleventh.
Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) did not take part in Race 2 after he sustained a fracture to his right fifth metacarpal bone following a crash in the Tissot Superpole Race.
The Emilia-Romagna Round will take place from the 10th to 12th of June at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”.