Sunday in Mandalika was certainly eventful and after the frenzy of the Superpole Race, even in Race 2 there was no shortage of entertainment and moments that leave you breathless. Despite the unknowns, it was once again Alvaro Bautista who prevailed, taking his fifth victory in six races. The reigning world champion didn’t let himself be intimidated by the misstep in the short race and returned to dominate the scene, thus confirming his dominance in the standings.
Mandalika is confirmed as a Yamaha track, with Toprak Razgatlioglu returning as a great protagonist, despite conquering a second position thanks to the sensational mistake of Michael Ruben Rinaldi. In fact, the rider from Romagna had started off in great shape and hadn’t even let himself be distracted by the red flag that had interrupted the race. A violent highside for Michael van der Mark in fact also involved Philipp Oettl, who hit the Dutchman’s BMW. Game over for both, with van der Mark visibly in pain, and red flag interrupting the action.
At the restart it is once again Rinaldi who imposes himself, only to then have to bow in the final rounds to his teammate who has clearly more. So it is Bautista who re-establishes the hierarchies, while a sensational mistake on the last lap costs the Ducati rider the podium. In fact, at Turn 10 he misses the entry and ends wide, allowing an aggressive Razgatlioglu to enter and take second position. Back in fourth position, he actually hands over the podium to Xavi Vierge.
The Spaniard from Honda passes under the checkered flag in third position and thus conquers the first podium of his career in the Superbike world championship, also offering the manufacturer with the golden wing a shot in the arm after the difficulties at the start of the season. Double-faced race 2 for Honda, which instead sees Iker Lecuona in ninth position. Vierge thus precedes a disappointed Rinaldi, who was in the lead before the restart and believed in it until the end, only to then have to settle for fourth position.
Fifth at the finish line is Andrea Locatelli, less sparkling than previously seen and almost five seconds behind the winner. Behind the other official Yamaha rider we find Danilo Petrucci, author of a solid Race 2 which allows him to be sixth and better than the independent riders. The Terni from team Barni got the better of Remy Gardner, seventh, and Axel Bassani, exuberant at the top in the early stages of the race but then dropped back to eighth place. The top 10 is completed by the aforementioned Lecuona, ninth, and Scott Redding, tenth and the only surviving BMW driver together with Garrett Gerloff, only 11th.
Kawasaki is missing in this Race 2: Alex Lowes fails to be incisive and ends up in the rear, passing under the checkered flag in 13th position well over 15 seconds behind Bautista. It’s worse for Jonathan Rea, who in his eagerness to get back into the fight for the podium loses control of his ZX-10RR and crashes, ending the weekend at the medical center for a checkup.
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