WSBK, Argentina: Bautista wins partly boycotted Race 1

For his first visit to the San Juan circuit, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) achieved an impressive pole position in 1'40.771 and started from the first row with Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) at his side Team) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).

Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) made up the second row alongside Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Barni Racing Team). Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha), victim of a fall in Superpole, could not participate in the race due to a painful hand. He will be re-examined on Sunday to try to run the two Sunday events.

If Jonathan Rea scored points in this Race 1 at San Juan, he would equal the longest run in points, recorded by Sylvain Guintoli with 43 consecutive top 15 results from Imola 2013/2 to MotorLand 2015/1. Rea's series began last year at Laguna Seca, Race 1.

When leaving the pits for the reconnaissance lap, several drivers (Laverty, Melandri, Kiyonari, Cortese, Davies and Camier) refused to participate in the race because the grip was too dangerous. The Race Direction nevertheless followed the starting procedure.

12 drivers took the start out of 18 qualified. Michael van der Mark took the holeshot ahead of Álvaro Bautista, Johnny Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu. Rea briefly took the lead, then Bautista moved into first position ahead of Rea, Razgatlioglu and van der Mark.

Bautista led the way with Rea, Razgatlioglu and van der Mark close behind. Alex Lowes was fifth, 2.1 behind the group of four leaders, ahead of Sykes, Rinaldi, Delbianco and Haslam.

Razgatlioglu set the fastest lap in 1'41.606. But Bautista, Rea, Razgatlioglu and van der Mark remained in the same order because overtaking off the line was very risky. Thus van der Mark fourth was the fastest in 1'41.432, but was unable to overtake. The only solution seemed to be to wait until the driver in front of you made a mistake.

Bautista, Rea, Razgatlioglu and van der Mark were locked in the lead, while Lowes was at 3.4, Rinaldi at 8.5 and Haslam and Sykes at 10.9.

The ranking did not change at the top, despite Rea's meritorious efforts to put pressure on Bautista. But the Ducati had a more powerful engine which allowed it to resist the Kawasaki rider.

The quality of the fight between the two leaders kept the race interesting, without forgetting the threat of Razgatlioglu and van der Mark just behind them. Van der Mark lost ground and found himself 3 seconds behind the leader, while his teammate Lowes was fifth at 11 seconds ahead of Haslam, Rinaldi, Sykes and Torres at 15.

It was then Bautista's turn to widen the gap on Rea, who was 2.3 with 10 laps remaining. Bautista, Rea, Razgatlioglu and van der Mark appeared to have secured their final places, with Lowes fifth 15 seconds back. The gaps were gigantic, with Sykes seventh at 20 seconds, and Reiterberger twelfth at 43 seconds! If…

Leon Haslam sixth set the mood a bit by closing in on Alex Lowes. Razgatlioglu third came back to Rea who seemed to have a problem. The World Champion clocked 1'43 compared to 1'41 for Bautista and 1'42 for Razgatlioglu, Lowes, Haslam and Sykes.

Rea found a good pace (1'41), just like his teammate Haslam who was increasingly threatening Lowes for fifth place. Michael Ruben Rinaldi returned to his stand, victim of a technical problem. Razgatlioglu was closing in on Rea, without really being able to attack him decisively.

Bautista finally won alone, ahead of Rea, Razgatlioglu and van der Mark. Lowes finished fifth, 22 seconds ahead of Haslam and Sykes.

Race 1 Results:

Provisional ranking of the World Championship:

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