WSBK in Barcelona

25.09.2022

Saturday

Alvaro Bautista dominated the whole race, passing under the chequered flag with a wide margin over Rea (Kawasaki). A strong start for Michael Rinaldi who, after a mistake, recovered from 10th position finishing 4th.

An exciting Saturday for the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team at the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.
Starting from fifth position, Alvaro Bautista took the lead at the first corner. After defending himself well against Razgatlioglu's attacks in the first three laps, the Spanish rider's race pace became untenable for his rivals.

After a very difficult qualifying (P10) at the first corner Rinaldi was already third. On lap 3, however, the Italian rider made a mistake and found himself in 10th position. From the middle of the race his comeback was relentless and allowed him to finish in fourth position ahead of Razgatlioglu.

P1 - Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #19)
"I am very very happy with this victory. It was great to win in front of so many fans, my friends, and my family. It's always a special feeling. However, it was not an easy victory. The key to the race was the tyres. That's why I tried not to push to the limit in the first laps despite the fact that Toprak was attacking with conviction. Tomorrow in the Superpole Race I won't have to worry about tyre management."

P4 - Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #21)
"It was a special day. I crashed on the first lap of the Superpole Race and thanks to the hard work of my team I was able to get back on track and start tenth on the grid. It was a great race though, despite the mistake that forced me to make a comeback. I managed the tyre well and I was able to make up positions in the second half of the race. It's a shame I wasn't able to get on the podium. I'll try again tomorrow."

Sunday

A triumphant day for the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team at the Montmelò circuit in Barcelona. Alvaro Bautista and Michael Rinaldi are the absolute protagonists of Race-2, finishing first and second respectively.

Bautista completes the perfect weekend after winning Race-1 and the Superpole Race. In Race-2 the Spanish rider's domination is absolute: first from the start to the chequered flag with a lead that reaches even 10 seconds.

An amazing race for Rinaldi, too. Starting from fifth position, at the first corner, he is already second. First he fights with Rea (Kawasaki), then with Bassani (Ducati) and he eventually defends himself brilliantly from the attack of Razgatlioglu (Yamaha): he secures the second place celebrating at parc ferme with his team-mate and the whole team.

P1 - Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #19)
"I am really super happy. It was a beautiful weekend but don't think it was easy. It's true, we won all the races, even by a margin, but only because the work we did with the team was really good. I am happy to have given my family, my friends and the many fans who came to Barcelona some good emotions. The season, however, is still long. We have to stay focused."

P2 - Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #21)
"The feeling and the sensations were good. I knew it would be important to do a good Superpole Race, in order to start from the front or the second row. I made a good start and in the first few laps, even though the competition was fierce, I still tried to manage the tyres. I was consistent and in the end, the strategy proved to be the right one. I am very happy, it is really a good moment but we cannot be satisfied. We still have to improve."

Race results

Pos.	Nr.	Driver	Bike	Time-gap to Leader
1	19	A. Bautista	Panigale V4R
2	21	M. Rinaldi	Panigale V4R	8.103
3	1	T. Razgatlioglu	YZF R1	9.090
4	65	J. Rea	ZX-10RR	10.210
5	47	A. Bassani	Panigale V4R	15.677
6	97	X. Vierge	CBR1000 RR-R	20.320
7	5	P. Oettl	Panigale V4R	33.622
8	7	I. Lecuona	CBR1000 RR-R	35.008
9	76	L. Baz	M1000RR	35.092
10	2	R. Tamburini	YZF R1	40.108
11	29	L. Bernardi	Panigale V4R	42.746
12	44	L. Mahias	ZX-10RR	43.165
13	60	M. Van der mark	M1000RR	46.197
14	50	E. Laverty	M1000RR	46.420
15	3	K. Nozane	YZF R1	48.365
16	55	A. Locatelli	YZF R1	50.985
17	36	L. Mercado	CBR1000 RR-R	54.132
18	52	O. Konig	ZX-10RR
RET	99	O. Gutierrez	ZX-10RR	7 Laps
RET	31	G. Gerloff	YZF R1	9 Laps
RET	23	C. Ponsson	YZF R1
RET	22	A. Lowes	ZX-10RR
RET	45	S. Redding	M1000RR

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