Treble triumph for Bautista in Spain

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.IT Racing – Ducati) has dominated Round 3 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, winning both races and the sprint event.

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Bautista (above) took his ninth consecutive race win in Race 2 at Motorland Aragon, Spain, to equal 2003 WorldSBK champion Neil Hodgson in winning the opening nine races of the season, as well as giving Ducati its 350th WorldSBK win.

Bautista took the lead from pole position, seeing-off Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) into turn one. For the first time this weekend, every rider made it through the opening corners without drama. Bautista's teammate Chaz Davies was an early improver and moved up to third place, whilst Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK) was a strong fourth despite dropping back. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) wasn't the fastest starter and dropped back, allowing a rapid-starting Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) and Eugene Laverty (Team Goeleven) to get in close proximity.

Davies made his move on lap two, to pass Rea and push the reigning four-time champion back into the jaws of the chasing pack. An action-packed second lap saw passes galore, with Sykes making an error at turn 12 to allow Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Torres through – Torres now sixth from eighth on the grid, one of the strongest showings in WorldSBK by the Team Pedercini Racing Kawasaki.

Lowes was starting his comeback through the order, up to third position and ahead of Rea, who was starting to look vulnerable. Rea was now in fourth and his teammate, Haslam, as well as Laverty, were closing in.

On lap eight, Davies began to pull away and put some distance between himself and Lowes. Rea ran wide and took Haslam with him; the Kawasaki riders were not looking like they were going to be able to mount a podium challenge. Lowes challenged Davies but was not able to make a pass. Further down the order, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) retired.

With Laverty dropping back from the battle for second and not able to initiate a challenge for the podium, Rea was starting his own resurgence, passing Lowes and pursuing Davies.

Two laps later, and Haslam made his way past Lowes at turn one, pursuing his teammate and Davies in second.

Whilst Rea looked set for a guaranteed podium, Haslam had other ideas and got ahead of the Ulsterman, taking over as the leader in the Kawasaki challenge. A lap later, and Rea repaid the compliment in identical fashion.

The penultimate lap beckoned, and it was Rea and Davies who renewed their rivalry. Rea put his trademark passing move on Davies at turn four, slicing under the Welshman, only for the 2011 WorldSSP champion to fight back at turn five. Haslam, after initially being dropped by half a second, was now right back in the battle for the podium.

On the final lap, a mistake by Davies at turn one allowed Rea to come straight through and put in the lap of his life to put distance on Davies. Haslam wasn't able to capitalise on the mistake by Davies and whilst Davies was coming back towards Rea into the final corner, there was nothing he could do to get ahead.

Bautista took the win, ahead of Rea by another huge margin; the ninth time that those two have finished in that order in 2019.

Davies completed the podium for the second time at the Aragon round, whilst Haslam and Lowes completed the top five. Laverty took sixth, ahead of Torres, Michael van der Mark (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK), Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) and Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK).

Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) was a dejected 11th, with Sykes right behind, having faded mid-race. Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) and teammate Ryuichi Kiyonari were 13th and 14th respectively, whilst Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished 15th.

Results: Motorland Aragon, Race 2
1. Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
3. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
4. Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
5. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team)

The Tissot Superpole Race for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship provided exciting action from lights-out to the chequered flag. For an eighth successive race, it was Bautista who took the win, becoming the first Ducati rider to win eight races since Troy Bayliss in 2006.

Off the line and Bautista was yet again the rider with the best start, leading into turn one. However, there was mayhem behind as Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) and Van der Mark collided and crashed, ending the Dutchman's 22-race streak of point-scoring positions. He finished 15th in the end, whilst Rinaldi went to the medical centre.

Bautista soon streaked away, leaving the battle for second to rage on. Cortese was running second until Lowes made his way ahead at turn 12. Davies tried a similar move a lap later at turn 16 but couldn't make the apex, running wide and dropping down to fifth – allowing Rea to make up a position.

Sykes and Laverty battled hard. Ahead of them, Cortese was starting to drop back as Lowes, Rea and Davies made their respective moves on the German rookie.

With five laps to go, there was another retirement as Reiterberger's miserable weekend continued, this time with mechanical gremlins. His teammate Sykes was enjoying a much better race, having dropped down to seventh after the opening lap, he was now fifth and pushing hard for a second consecutive top five of the year.

The battle for second was starting to take place though, as Lowes slipstreamed his way passed Rea down the back straight, achieving the move at turn 16 with just five laps left to go. Two laps later, Rea almost hit the rear end of the Yamaha-man at turn one, allowing Davies to now get in on the action.

A lap later, it was a shoot-out and Rea tried to get ahead of Lowes at turn one, but the Englishman fought back. At turn four, Rea finally fired his way through and despite Lowes looking to fight back, Rea held on. The final lap soon beckoned but no moves were made, despite Lowes' best efforts.

However, it was the dominant Bautista who took yet another win in his WorldSBK career, holding off Rea (below) and Lowes. Davies was a solid fourth, whilst Sykes and Laverty completed the top six; the front two rows for the last race of the weekend.

Results: Sprint
1. Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
3. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team)
4. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
5. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)

An action-packed opening WorldSBK encounter saw Bautista take a seventh win of the 2019 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season. It was a thrilling battle for second position though, as a seven-bike train soon began to frantically swap places, resulting in a thrilling final few laps.

Bautista got a dream start, blasting clear into the lead by turn one. However, there was drama behind as Rea and Reiterberger collided on the line, leaving the German rider on the floor in the middle of the pack. He was able to get up, but his race was certainly over.

Sykes was able to give some positivity to the German manufacturer, as he got into second position, ahead of Lowes. There was more carnage on the opening lap, as Leandro ‘Tati’ Mercado (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) and Alessandro Delbianco (Althea Mie Racing Team) crashed at turn 12.

Davies was moving up the order very quickly, into fourth by lap two, racing up from eighth on the grid. Rea had also made a great start, up to fifth position, whilst the rider who had suffered the most in the opening laps was Cortese, who was now down to seventh as Van der Mark moved through on his Yamaha compatriot.

As the race progressed, a mistake from Lowes at the final corner allowed Rea and Sykes to come through, whilst Davies also got in on the action – four riders, representing four manufacturers, side by side down the straight for second position. Meanwhile, way out in the lead, Bautista achieved a new lap record, with 1'49.755 cementing his position as the rider to beat in WorldSBK.

Sykes soon dropped back behind the main protagonists but Laverty was right in the mix, picking up places to soon find himself among the leading group. The Irishman made it into fifth position in the final third of the race, before also making a bold move with three laps to go on Lowes at turn 12. The Irishman was now fourth and looking good for a podium.

Rea was looking good for second place and continuously hounded Davies through turns three, four and five. Rea led the battle going on to the final lap, with Davies all over the rear end of the reigning four-time champion.

Laverty was able to make his way to the back of the duo, looking hard for a way ahead of Davies. Into turn 14, Davies was lining Rea up for a move down the back straight before Laverty clipped him and crashed out. Davies stayed aboard but the damage had been done.

Completing the race without any such drama, Bautista took a seventh win, whilst Rea took a seventh second position and Davies finished in third place – his first podium of the 2019 season.

Results: Race 1
1. Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
3. Chaz Davies (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati)
4. Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team)
5. Tom Sykes (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)

WorldSBK standings after Round 3
1. Alvaro Bautista – Ducati, 186 points
2. Jonathan Rea – Kawasaki, 147 pts
3. Alex Lowes – Yamaha, 100 pts
4. Michael van der Mark – Yamaha, 79 pts
5. Leon Haslam – Kawasaki, 74 pts

In related news, Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros) claimed the win in World Supersport at Aragon, while Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) clinched his maiden victory in WorldSSP300.

The championship now turns its attention to Round 4, the Motul Dutch Round, which will be staged over April 12-14 at the historic Assen circuit, in the Netherlands.