[WSBK] Aragon, J3, Race 2: Superb race from Rea, Lowes and Davies… behind Bautista

Like the day before, we found on the first row of the starting grid Álvaro Bautista – (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Sandro Cortese – (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Tom Sykes – (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). The second was made up of Alex Lowes – (Pata Yamaha Official WorldSBK Team), Michael Ruben Rinaldi – (Barni Racing Team) and Eugene Laverty – (Team GoEleven).

The big question was whether Alvaro Bautista would manage to win his eighth consecutive victory. Facing him, and although he brought his career total to more than 2 points this Saturday, the fact remains that MotorLand Aragón is not one of Rea's favorite tracks, it is even the one of only two in the 000 calendar where he has never won a double.

Alvaro Bautista was delighted with his Race 1 on Saturday: “ From the start I tried to get an advantage from the first round trying not to lose my concentration. Although I had a comfortable lead over the others, I really had a lot of fun with the bike today, sliding into and out of corners under acceleration, but I was still focused on my riding. In the end, winning the race and becoming the first Spanish driver to win in Aragón is a dream, especially with all my family and friends here! ".

Chaz Davies progressed by finishing behind Jonathan Rhea (Kawasaki Racing Team) to take third position. According to the Welshman, “ I am very happy with this result, especially to be on the podium again” he declared. “ Overall, we have progressed, even since Friday's free practice,” added the Ducati representative. “We just need to iron out a few final little details to get it right. I think everyone has been able to take a step forward and we are all starting to find our feet. It seems like it's been working since day one for Álvaro, and I think it's great that he's able to show the full potential of the bike while we're clearly still finding our feet."

Despite another second place, Jonathan Rhea maintained strong morale “Yesterday's race position couldn't have been better and we reached the maximum, even starting from tenth place on the grid. It was an eventful race for me and very exciting, with lots of overtaking. Overall, we are very happy with the points and the podium, but remain a little disappointed by the gap to the front, which is too big ».

After an excellent start which earned him a place among the top three at the start of Race 1, Tom Sykes was satisfied “I think our program only started a few months ago and the start of this project has been very rapid. It’s truly impressive what the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team has achieved so far. We modified the bike slightly. Of course we play a bit with the electronics, but I think the biggest difference from the previous rounds is that we have a lot more corners here, and I think it's clear to see that we are fast in the first sectors and that we only lose in the last sector ».

According to Marco Melandri, “During testing, on the racing tire, it wasn't so bad, but we had problems in the race. We changed the settings a bit to try and find more speed, but the engine braking was no longer as effective and my feeling with the bike was worse than before. So I couldn't stop the bike. In the corners the bike was very high at the front and I had no grip so it wouldn't turn. It was difficult, but my potential here is much better and that's why I'm happy to race again this Sunday ».

On the starting grid, the air temperature was relatively cool at 14°. Leandro Mercado was declared unfit with a suspected scaphoid fracture after a crash on Saturday in Turn 12.

Álvaro Bautista in great shape

The fastest to start this short race (10 laps, regardless of the length of the circuit) was Álvaro Bautista ahead of Sandro Cortese, alex lowes, Tom Sykes and Johnny Rea. Michael van der Mark and Michael Ruben Rinaldi fell in the first meters.

Bautista immediately opened up a significant gap with a 1.6 lead at the end of the first lap ahead of Alex Lowes, Johnny Rea and Sandro Cortese. Chaz Davies missed a bit and went to the outside of a corner, ending up fifth at 3.4. Michael van der Mark started last, in sixteenth position.

2.5 behind Bautista, Rea took second position from Lowes. Davies fourth held off Cortese, Laverty and Sykes.

Bautista stabilized his lead at 2.4 ahead of Rea and Lowes. Davies was sailing alone in 4th position at 3.8 while Laverty battled for 5th place at 5.0 against Sykes, Haslam and Cortese.

Markus Reiterberger's BMW broke down on the circuit, allowing van der Mark in fifteenth to get into the points.

4 seconds behind Bautista, Lowes took second position from Rea, while Davies closed in on the two men, especially in the straight.

With 3 laps remaining, Bautista was heading for victory with a 4.1 lead, but second place was the subject of a magnificent fight between Lowes, Rea and Davies. The Yamaha resisted the Kawasaki and the Ducati brilliantly.

Bautista further increased his lead to 5.7 and crossed the finish line as winner for the eighth consecutive time. Second place, after a fantastic fight, went to Rea ahead of Lowes and Davies. Sykes was fifth ahead of Laverty, Haslam, Torres and Cortese.

Ranking of Race 2:

Provisional ranking of the World Championship:

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