Alvaro Bautista has been crowned the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Champion, three years after his maiden campaign with the team. An amazing display of consistency within aggressive battles within the title chasing trio led to Bautista wrapping up the title in Mandalika, Indonesia.
An exhausted Bautista after the race said: “It’s incredible, I’m so happy. It’s a dream come true, especially after the last two years and all the difficulties. I want to say thanks to everyone who trusted me, to give me this chance to fight for good places and we got the Championship at the first time of trying. Today was the first time I felt a bit nervous or stressed, but it was in Race 2 on the grid before the start. I tried to manage the emotions and when I was in first, I was making a lot of mistakes because I had too many thoughts in my head! I just preferred to stay second behind Toprak, but he was very strong, so I could just follow him. So happy.”
The Weekend Round-up
WorldSBK Mandalika – Superpole
After setting the new track record during the FP3 session with a time of 1’32.294, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) also took pole position for Race 1 and the Sunday Superpole Race with an impressive time of 1’31.371, improving on the previous track record by more than 1 second which he had set last year and lapping just 3 tenths of a second slower than the MotoGP track record. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK), Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) also managed to drop below the previous track record.
WorldSSP Mandalika – Superpole
The star of Superpole was Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) who, with the new track lap record at 1’35.947, took pole position. Behind the MV Agusta, and by a mere 53 thousandths of a second, was Turkish rider Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), with championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) completing the front row. Fourth place went to Italian Nicolò Bulega on the Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team Ducati.
WorldSBK Mandalika – Race 1
Toprak Keeps The Dream Alive
In the 900th WorldSBK race Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) scored the race win, the 30th of his career, keeping the championship fight from being decided until at least Sunday at Mandalika.
The 2021 champion made an immediate lead for himself with only Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) able to follow in the early part of the race – once he had passed the fast starting Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team).
With 13 laps to go Bautista made a move for second place, and succeeded, with Rea relegated to third and instantly finding a gap developing to the fleeing Bautista.
With the podium places filled by Bautista and Rea, Locatelli was fourth, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fifth and Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) sixth.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) moved up to seventh through the race, Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) was eighth, holding off strong early pace-man Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) who was a disappointed ninth. The top ten was rounded out by top BMW rider Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), after the rejuvenated Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had crashed out.
In the points, Bautista has 527, Razgatlioglu 450 and Rea 425.
WorldSSP Mandalika – Race 1
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was out in the early stages, Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was able to manage the race without any pressure and his fifth-place finish was enough to crown him World Champion in the category for the second year in a row. The race win, on the other hand, went to pole man Niki Tuuli who managed to stay in the lead almost from start to finish. Behind him were Federico Caricasulo, (Althea Racing), who started from the fifth spot on the grid, and Can Öncü on the third step of the podium.
WorldSBK Mandalika – Superpole Race
Razgatlioglu Pulls Off Second Win
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) had a fantastic dust-up for a few laps of the Superpole Race at Mandalika but in the end Razgatlioglu had enough in his pocket to win from Rea by just over half a second.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) piled into the Superpole Race fight from his front row starting position with gusto, battling with Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) for a time, before Bautista appeared to settle for a safe fourth.
In finishing fifth overall, Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) became the 2022 Independent Riders’ Champion.
He was followed home in the ten lap race on Sunday morning by Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and seventh placed Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team).
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was eighth,
Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) placed ninth and Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) tenth.
WorldSBK Mandalika – Race 2
Bautista The New World Champion
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) won his third race at Mandalika but in finishing second after 21 laps of Race Two Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) became the first Ducati World Champion for 11 years.
Both the slower-starting Bautista and Razgatlioglu passed and re-passed each other in a race that Bautista looked like he wanted to win, and not settle for a safe second. But as in the previous two races, Razgatlioglu was just too fast at this circuit, and Bautista ended up just 1.230 seconds behind at the flag, but also on top of the world.
Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was just under three seconds adrift of Razgatlioglu at the flag.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) lost the fight with Bautista early in the race, but he finally saw off the push and aggression of Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati), who would end up fifth.
Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda), Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha), Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and the slow starting Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) rounded out the top ten.
With one round to go, and the title already decided, the current points stand at Bautista 553 points, Razgatlioglu has 487, Rea 434, Rinaldi 279 and Locatelli, 245.
WorldSSP Mandalika – Race 2
Aegerter Wins Red Flagged Final Indonesian Race
In a race that would be red flagged after Race One winner Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) crashed just as the two-thirds distance warning was looming, Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) would finally win a race on the weekend he also won the championship.
He came through from sixth place in a busy WorldSSP race, made all the more uncertain because of the still slippery track sections off the contrastingly dark racing line.
Manzi came through at pace to pass eventual third place rider Can Öncü (kawasaki Puccetti Racing) who had been a long time early race leader.
Tuuli was also in the mix for the win again, leading at times himself, before being passed by Aegerter and Manzi, and then suffering his own massive highside.
Wearing a special crash helmet to celebrate his championship win Aegerter looked like he could lead all day, even if he was being closely pursued by eventual second place rider when the red flag was thrown on lap 13.
Tulli’s fall from third place allowed Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) to take his seventh podium of 2022.
Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) made progress forward and had a few near contacts with other riders as the narrow strip of clean and grippy asphalt had to be vacated to make potential passes, which was always a risky business on a one line circuit.
Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) had been third for some time in the early laps, but ended up fifth, leading home a loose four rider group with Nicolo Beluga (Aruba Racing Ducati), potential podium rider Federico Caricasulo, with Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS) hanging on with the elongated group of behind Montella.
Having run wide more than once in his up fromnt battles, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) recovered to finish ninth, with Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) tenth.
Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo Racing By Puccetti Kawasaki) was 11th, and Oli Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing) 14th.
In the championship, with one round to go, Aegerter has a 462 points, Baldassarri 359, Öncu has 248 and Bulega 210. One more round to go, at Phillip Island next week.
Congratulations goes to Bautista on his title success, watch the Aussie finale of the 2022 season in Phillip Island using the WorldSBK VideoPass.
