WSBK Superbike Australia Race-2: Phillip Island for the faint of heart!

An engine that explodes on the BMW of Toprak Razgatliogu, a tire that forfeits the Yamaha of Remy gardner following contact with Jonathan Rhea, Andrea Iannone by far the fastest in the first part of the race, a Jonathan Rhea who eventually crashed at turn 11 and was evacuated to the medical center, resulting in red flags for an event now reduced to 11 additional laps, a Alvaro Bautista wanting to return to old habits from the last two years; here is some of what the Superbikes presented to us in just 3 laps on the Australian circuit of Phillip Island before the 2nd part of race-2! But what happened in this round with multiple twists and turns?

It all started with Supersport and Superbike races being postponed due to an Australian Superbike competitor, Matt Walters, who spilled all the oil from his Aprilia RSV4 1100 engine on the Australian track, causing himself and Anthony West to crash. . The stewards did what they could, but the Supersport grid lap, postponed many times, clearly showed that the grip was not perfect. For the Superbikes, it was, for the 22 riders preparing to do battle.

3 laps were enough to raise the blood pressure of the spectators taking advantage of the 23° prevailing on the Australian island. Superbike race 2 in Australia was therefore eventful to say the least. Started in the lead, Andrea Locatelli maintains its advantage at the start despite the assaults of'Alex Lowes, Toprak Razgatlioglu et Alvaro Bautista. It was ultimately the No. 1 who found the solution on lap 4, while the Turk had to give up his hopes of victory due to the technical problems already mentioned which caused him to withdraw definitively from the race.

It is also in this 4th round where Andrea Iannone was riding half a second faster than everyone else that the major incident of this race occurred. Falling at turn 11 at the end of the third lap, Jonathan Rea, yet gone back to 4e position, causes a red flag. Evacuated on a stretcher, the six-time champion was taken to the circuit's medical center and was declared unfit due to multiple bruises and abrasions, but he quickly returned to his box.

The first classification of WSBK Superbike Race 2 in Australia at the red flag:

During the restart, the race was shortened to 11 laps. As was the case in Supersport this Sunday, the obligatory pit stop has therefore been removed.

During the second departure, Baptist keeps his head, but quickly finds himself threatened by Locatelli et Andrea Iannone et Michael Ruben Rinaldi who moved up from sixth place to challenge the leading Ducati.

Numerous position changes then take place behind the leader, before Locatelli does not fall in the last lap. Leaving the way clear for Lowes to get closer to Baptist.

It was by attempting the last chance maneuver from the outside at Lukey Heights that the No. 22 managed to get the best of it, snatching victory down to the wire. Baptist who would not have imagined being worried at this stage of the race. alex lowes thus reports its 180e victory at Kawasaki and finds himself championship leader for the first time since 2020.

Danilo Petrucci for his part also achieved the feat of overtaking Iannone during the last passage and offers himself a podium. No. 29 finishes the race in 4e position while Nicholas Bulega limits the damage from his bad start with a finish at 5e rank, a few tenths ahead Rinaldi.

Michael van der Mark crosses the checkered flag in 10e position but takes advantage of the penalty of agitated to take the points for ninth place. Xavi Verge was 13e on arrival, in front Philipp Oettl et Bradley Ray who scores a point on his first visit to Phillip Island.

Alex Lowes, winner at Phillip Island: “It was an incredible day! The race lagged a little and in the first part of it, Toprak's bike exploded. I was almost off-piste, I did well to stay. Then Jonathan had a big fall, so I hope he's okay. I was a little behind, but just before the red flag, I had a few good sectors to catch up with my brother. I had good speed and the temperature was dropping a bit. My goal during the restart was to get a good start, to place myself in the first three or four positions. I knew Toprak wasn't there. Once settled into the race, I had difficulty staying in contact with Bautista and Michael. Locatelli passed me at turn 4. He was going to hit the back of Bautista, so he went wide and then I managed to stay on the line. I knew I could be very fast in turn 8 and turn 9. This was my only chance to pass him and try to stop the bike in turns 10 and 11. I had a little plan, and it went pretty well. In the end, I had a lot more grip than Alvaro which allowed me to do this maneuver. »

Jonathan Rea after his fall in the last lap: “First and foremost, physically I'm fine, apart from hitting my hip quite badly in the fall, but no other injuries since Tuesday. I had two big falls this week, but I'm in one piece. Really frustrated because the fall was a big surprise. This was when I was gaining confidence on the bike and feeling pretty good. I need to examine the incident and try to improve my feelings. You can see how competitive “Loka” is and that we can make it happen. I want to go home now, find myself, reset and come back stronger to Barcelona. »

Results of race-2 of the Superbikes at Phillip Island:

Photo credits and rankings: Worldsbk.com