Superbike Jerez, the final show
There could not have been a more beautiful ending to say goodbye to the 2023 championship and postpone the Superbike show to 2024. Alvaro Bautista And Toprak Razgatlioglu they were in fact the authors of an exciting duel that lasted the entire second half of the match. The Turkish Yamaha rider subsequently won it on the track penalized by the Race Direction for having passed the track limits. The success therefore went to the new reigning world champion, but this does not take away the beauty of one of the most spectacular races of the year.
Race report
The race took place without the presence of Alex Lowes’ Kawasaki on the track, as stated unfit after the fall in the Superpole Race due to a facial trauma which was not considered serious by the medical staff. At the start it was home idol Bautista who retained the lead until the exit of the first corner, with Rhea who however took the lead immediately afterwards ahead of the #1 Ducati and Razgatlioglu. The Northern Irishman attempted to break away, also taking advantage of the #54’s overtaking of Bautista, but on lap 3 he was fallen at turn 2. The dream of victory thus vanished in the early stages of the race, which he will nevertheless complete. In this way, Aegerter returned to the podium, with the trio remaining unchanged until 10th lap. Just when Razgatlioglu seemed to be pulling ahead of his Ducati rival, the latter began to make up ground, attempting to overtake several times. The challenge allowed the recovery of Aegerter and Rinaldi, who in fact took the opportunity to move up to 3rd place. The challenge between the top two intensified from lap to lap, with Bautista taking the provisional lead on the 12th lap. However, Razgatlioglu never gave up, with a continuous exchange of positions started from that moment until the checkered flag. At the same time, Rinaldi made a mistake that took him away from the podium area, with Aegerter thus securing his second consecutive top-3 placing after the one in the Superpole Race. Razgatlioglu and Bautista continued their battle unabated, which rewarded the Yamaha rider. The latter, however, in an attempt to resist the Spaniard’s attacks, crossed the gate several times track limits, which is why the Race Direction relegated him to second position. With this success, Bautista wins the 59th career victoryreaching second place in the all-time rankings Carl Fogarty.
Superbikes | Jerez 2023, Race-2: order of arrival
POS. | PILOT | MOTORCYCLE | TIME/GAP |
1 | Alvaro Bautista | Ducati | |
2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Yamaha | +0.018 |
3 | Dominique Aegerter | Yamaha | +0.321 |
4 | Remy Gardner | Yamaha | +1,370 |
5 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati | +2,602 |
6 | Michael Rinaldi | Ducati | +5,997 |
7 | Philipp Öttl | Ducati | +7,991 |
8 | Scott Redding | BMW | +9,489 |
9 | Andrea Locatelli | Yamaha | +9,768 |
10 | Garrett Gerloff | BMW | +9,800 |
11 | Axel Bassani | Ducati | +11,899 |
12 | Michael van der Mark | BMW | +14.204 |
13 | Xavi Vierge | Honda | +15,862 |
14 | Tito Rabat | Kawasaki | +17,188 |
15 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | Yamaha | +17,466 |
16 | Iker Lecuona | Honda | +26,477 |
17 | Jonathan Rea | Kawasaki | +31.156 |
18 | Loris Baz | BMW | +32.419 |
19 | Hafizh Syahrin | Honda | +38.944 |
20 | Gabriele Ruiu | BMW | +44.442 |
21 | Leandro Mercado | Honda | +49.727 |
22 | Florian Alt | Honda | +53.049 |
23 | Oliver König | Kawasaki | +55,020 |
THANKS JOHNNY say @KRT_WorldSBK to @jonathanrea after 270 races and so much success together 👏💚🏍 #ESPWorldSBK 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/wqavNQ3Psq
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) October 29, 2023
The numerous pre-2024 goodbyes
Race-2 in Jerez was irrelevant in terms of championship battles, with the championship title previously won by Ducati in the Constructors’ category and by Alvaro Bautista in yesterday’s Race-1. However, this afternoon too, other strong emotions were experienced: Andalusia was in fact the scene of thelast race Of Jonathan Rea riding the Kawasakiwith the six-time Northern Irish champion preparing to continue his adventure in Superbike with the Yamaha from 2024. A position that became available after the announcement of Toprak Razgatlioglu to leave the Japanese company to join BMW, also putting an end to a relationship that culminated in the conquest of the title in 2021. Greetings from home too Ducatiwith the departure of Michael Rinaldi from the Aruba.it team, the same one where Nicolò Bulega, new champion in the Supersport class, will arrive. Instead, he will be there to replace Rea in Kawasaki Axel Bassaniwho today ended his adventure with the team Motocorsa Racing.
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