WSBK Superbike Catalunya Race 2: And 3 for Álvaro Bautista! Ducati is now dreaming big…

Alvaro Bautista unapproachable on one of its magical circuits: He also won race 2 and revived his escape from the world championship. Jonathan Rhea, Toprak Razgatlioğlu in defense mode.

Paul Gozzi / Corsedimoto.com

Now try to catch an Álvaro bautista like that. The Spaniard achieves the hat-trick on one of his magical circuits, like the last time in Aragon in 2019, and restarts the race for the Ducati World Championship. The Superbike title, which has been missing since 2011, seems within reach this time, even if there are still four rounds (twelve races) to go. In the same weather and asphalt conditions and with the same tires, it was obvious that race 2 would be a carbon copy of the race the day before. In fact, not a single comma has changed. “Alvarito” started from the pole he had won in the morning by winning the sprint race, took the reins and gradually increased his lead. See you in Portimão in a fortnight.

 

Super Ducati, Michael Rinaldi finishes the job
On this occasion, Ducati put a spooky package on the track. Power, tire management, reliability: Nothing was missing from the Panigale V4. Michael Rinaldi got his day of grace with a second place defended with his teeth against attacks from Toprak Razgatlioğlu et Jonathan Rhea : In Superbike, teamwork works even when it is not ordered. Of the two challengers for the world championship, Jonathan Rhea was the most bellicose. But the Kawasaki was at the limit, and Jonathan made a few mistakes that cost him the podium. Soil Razgatlioğlu was more submissive, and if such a hot rider runs to limit the damage, without flashes, it means that Yamaha must have had a lot of problems this weekend.

 

 

The battle is over
Alvaro Bautista crossed the finish line in the parade, slowing down noticeably to greet fans in the grandstand on one side and in the Ducati box on the other. This supremacy was so overwhelming that it suddenly changed the face of the championship. During the previous seven rounds, we had been excited by the overtaking, the brawling and, from time to time, the low blows between Álvaro, Toprak and Rea. But in Catalonia, direct confrontations have faded, giving way to three predictable monologues. Alvaro Bautista will leave in two weeks for Portimão with +59 points on Soil Razgatlioğlu and +67 points on Jonathan Rea.

 

 

Axel Bassani goes for it, Scott Redding misses.
For about half the distance, Axel Bassani, sprinting from the middle of the grid, held off Rinaldi, Rea and Toprak. Then the tires failed him, convincing him to pull the boat's oars: Fifth place is nevertheless excellent for a private team like Motocorsa. At the back of the pack, a cloud of dust was raised by Scott Redding, who crashed in the fast right turn leading to the straight. The Briton was only scratched, and who knows if at the medical center he will have thought about the victory he celebrated here a year ago with Ducati. The BMW, which in recent races seemed to be on the rise, here plunged into its usual problems.

Next round in Portugal
The World Superbike returns to the track in a fortnight in Portimão, in the Algarve region of Portugal. Then, the championship will offer the final triptych of non-European rounds with Argentina, Indonesia and Australia which follow one another in rapid succession. Grand final from November 18-20 at Phillip Island.

 

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Paul Gozzi