Gordon Ritchie | April 10, 2022
Sunday
Superbike Race Two
After winning the first ten-lap race earlier on Sunday morning Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) answered some questions about his full 18-lap race potential with a resounding win over his closest rivals.
His front-running pace was only dropped into the 1:51s on the final few laps as he enjoyed a final 4.393-second advantage over Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team).
Once again Rea had to fight off the unwelcome close attentions of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and finally Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). At the end it was a spread out affair, with Rea second, Razgatlioglu third and Rinaldi once more a more than respectable fourth.
Bautista looks perfectly at home on the Panigale after the race two win.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was fifth, after Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crashed out from a strong position and was only 19th.
Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) brought his privateer V4R to a top six finish, 15 seconds from the factory Ducati of Bautista out front – in a world of his own.
Best BMW rider was Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) in seventh place, winning a highly entertaining fight for the top ten race rankings from Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda), Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) and Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda).
In the championship points Bautista leads with 57, Rea has 54, Razgatlioglu 39 and Rinaldi 32.
2022 Aragon WorldSBK Results—Race Two
| 1 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Duc) |
|
| 2 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
+ 4.393s |
| 3 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
+ 6.223s |
| 4 |
M. Ruben Rinaldi |
(Duc) |
+ 8.817s |
| 5 |
Alex Lowes |
(Kaw) |
+ 12.247s |
WorldSSP Race Two
Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) had been a podium position all race long, as the top three broke away from the pack, but his bike suffered an electrical issue on the final lap and he no-scored.
That gave Nicolo Beluga (Aruba Racing Ducati) the chance to take the first ‘Next Generation’ podium of the new WorldSSP era, and he duly delivered on the official Ducati Panigale V2.
Dominique Aegerter made it a win in race two.
Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Yamaha) was again fast in fourth place, almost finishing in Bulega’s slipstream.
Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) was fifth, Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) a much improved sixth, and the first Kawasaki home was ridden into seventh place by Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).
Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS), from the back of the grid after a tyre pressure infringement, was eventually eighth.
Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was ninth and the second Triumph of Hannes Soomer (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS) rounded out the top ten.
Oliver Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) was 19th, Tom Booth-Amos (Prodina Racing Kawasaki) in the points again – just – in 15th.
In the championship, Aegerter and Baldassarri are tied on 45 points, with Bulega on 27 and van Strallen on 26.
2022 Aragon WorldSSP Results—Race Two
| 1 |
Dominique Aegerter |
(Yam) |
|
| 2 |
Lorenzo Baldassarri |
(Yam) |
+ 0.030s |
| 3 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Duc) |
+ 7.587s |
| 4 |
Glenn van Straalen |
(Yam) |
+ 8.012s |
| 5 |
Niki Tuuli |
(MVA) |
+ 11.276s |
WorldSBK Superpole Race
After holding a little in reserve in the first race on Saturday Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) cut loose in the ten-lap Superpole race on Sunday morning, easing his way to a clear lead and then winning by 5.141 seconds over Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team). He led all ten laps across the finish line.
Rea had a real fight on his hands even after Bautista ran clear to take his first WorldSBK win since Race One at Argentina in 2019, as eventual third place rider Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and in particular Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made life difficult for him.
Bautista was dominant in the Superpole race.
Razgatlioglu looked set for fourth place until he made a final corner pass on Rinaldi that irritated the Italian rider, as he lost a golden chance to take not just a podium but potentially second place.
A second and a half behind the top four, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was fifth, just easing Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) to sixth by 0.091 seconds.
With no off-track expedition in this race, Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) was seventh, and the two Honda riders Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) and Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) finished eighth and ninth respectively.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) placed tenth.
Saturday race over-performer Ilya Mikhalchik (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) crashed out, the only rider to do so.
2022 Aragon WorldSBK Results—Superpole Race
| 1 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Duc) |
|
| 2 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
+ 5.141s |
| 3 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
+ 6.008s |
| 4 |
M. Ruben Rinaldi |
(Duc) |
+ 6.067s |
| 5 |
Andrea Locatelli |
(Yam) |
+ 7.532s |
Saturday
Superbike Race One
The Big Three in Superpole became the Big Three in the 18-lap opening race at Motorland, as Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) set about clearing their own path to the podium positions.
In the final laps one-time race leader Razgatlioglu dropped off the leading pace as Rea and Bautista used their machine’s strengths against each other. Bautista would pass Rea on the straights and Rea caught back up to repass in the corners that led onto the back straight.
A final lap push from Bautista saw him catch Rea, pass him into the final left hander but Rea cut across on the inside and take the first win of 2022 by 0.090 seconds.
Razgatlioglu was a safe 5.416 seconds back in third.
Rea, Alvaro and Razgatlioglu were hard at it in race one.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) joined the battling top three as shadow for much of the race but was dropped off the leading pace in the final third, ending up fourth, over ten seconds from the winner Rea.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) came through to finish fifth, some 15 seconds from glory, making a solid start to his second year in WorldSBK.
A great showing on real race conditions for the new-look Honda HRC squad saw Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda) in sixth position and Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) seventh, just 2.7 seconds from his team-mate.
New year, new stars – even unexpected ones – as BMW stand-in rider Ilya Mykhalchyk (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was top BMW, in eighth place.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) was ninth and the top ten was rounded out by Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW), who held off his team-mate Loris Baz over the line.
Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was 15th in his debut M1000RR ride, in the middle of a four rider fight.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was on course for a top five but crashed out early in the race.
Rookies Luca Bernardi (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) and Philipp Öttl (Team GoEleven Ducati) were 12th and 13th, with second year WorldSBK runner Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) 14th.
Two more races remain for the WorldSBK riders this weekend, on Sunday 10 April.
2022 Aragon WorldSBK Results—Race One
| 1 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
|
| 2 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Duc) |
+ 0.090s |
| 3 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
+ 5.416s |
| 4 |
M. Ruben Rinaldi |
(Duc) |
+ 10.272s |
| 5 |
Andrea Locatelli |
(Yam) |
+ 15.767s |
Supersport
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) was a first time WorldSSP race winner in his debut race – but only after a dramatic finish that almost saw him crash on the final corner.
A three way early fight between eventual victor Baldassarri, his only last-lap challenger Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), and leader for six laps Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), finally became a duel of the Yamaha riders when Öncü lost some tyre grip.
Entering the final curve, from a leading position, Baldassarri almost lost the front as his outside leg slid off the footpeg – just as Aegerter tried to pass. They collided and Aegerter ran wide.
Despite losing the font then rear and then rear again, and looking like he would crash, Baldassarri got back on line and beat Aegerter across the line by 0.239 seconds.
Baldassarri was a first-time race winner in WorldSSP.
Oncu was third, a second or so behind, with yet another R6 rider, Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Yamaha) in fourth place.
The first Next-Generation entry came from the official Ducati of Nicolo Beluga (Aruba Racing Ducati).
The best 800cc MV Agusta ride was put in from Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) in sixth place, with the new bikes well represented – but not swamping the existing 600s in any regard so far.
Seventh place was the reward for Triumph’s return to active WorldSSP action, after an evaluation year in BSS. It came via another new boy, Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS).
The top ten was rounded out by Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Ducati), reigning WorldSSP300 champion Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) and Patrick Hobelsberger (Kallio Racing Yamaha).
Oliver Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) was 21st, and Tom Booth-Amos (Prodina Racing Kawasaki) scored points for 13th place.
2022 Aragon WorldSSP Results—Race One
| 1 |
Lorenzo Baldassarri |
(Yam) |
|
| 2 |
Dominique Aegerter |
(Yam) |
+ 0.239s |
| 3 |
Can Oncu |
(Kaw) |
+ 1.165s |
| 4 |
Glenn van Straalen |
(Yam) |
+ 6.875s |
| 5 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Duc) |
+ 9.092s |
Friday
Superbike
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took the lead on the FP2 session time sheets with just over ten minutes left – but thanks to his morning lap time of 1’49.301 Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) was the fastest rider overall on the opening day of a new season.
The expected ‘final’ big three in 2022 finished in the top three positions, with 2021 World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) third fastest on day one of his title defense, 0.364 seconds behind Rea.
Jonathan Rea, back to number 65, went top at Aragon on Friday.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) started his third WorldSBK season in fourth place, and was top Independent Rider as a result. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) overcame a tough pre-season official test earlier in the week to place fifth.
A fully fit Alex Lowes Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was overall sixth fastest.
The top BMW rider was Frenchman Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW), heading off the factory M1000RR riders and many others.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was eighth, late call-up for the all-new Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK team Roberto Tamburini a remarkable ninth and the top Honda rookie in the first day of his new school, Iker Lecuona (HRC Honda), tenth.
Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) was 15th and Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 16th in a field of 25 riders.
2022 Aragon WorldSBK Results—Friday
| 1 |
Jonathan Rea |
(Kaw) |
1:49.301s |
| 2 |
Alvaro Bautista |
(Duc) |
+ 0.305s |
| 3 |
Toprak Razgatlioglu |
(Yam) |
+ 0.364s |
| 4 |
Garrett Gerloff |
(Yam) |
+ 0.599s |
| 5 |
M. Ruben Rinaldi |
(Duc) |
+ 0.699s |
Supersport
In the first meaningful test of the new WorldSSP future, with ‘Next Generation’ machines of varying shapes and sizes taking on the existing 600cc fours, everybody enjoyed some kind of success to speak about on day one.
But it was the 2021 World Champion, Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha), who led them all by a clear 0.579 seconds and more after their first two free practice sessions at Motorland Aragon.
WorldSSP Champion Dominique Aegerter topped the Friday times in Supersport.
His best lap of 1’53.407 was untouchable but all five manufacturers fitted at least one of their machines into the top eight places in a field of 30 riders. Behind Aegerter official Ducati rider Nicolo Beluga (Aruba Racing Ducati) was second fastest, and another new hopeful Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) placed third.
Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) was fourth – and top MV rider – with the best 600cc Kawasaki taken to fifth place by Can Öncü (Puccetti Racing).
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) was sixth quickest after two dry and relatively warm sessions, but like his old team-mate Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Ducati) in seventh place, he had to rely on his FP1 time, unlike the top five.
Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS) was the best of the two Triumph riders, in eighth place.
The early top ten was rounded out by Marcel Brenner (VFT Racing Yamaha) and Patrick Hobelsberger (Kallio Racing Yamaha).
New WorldSSP rider Tom Booth-Amos (Prodina Racing Kawasaki) was 15th. 2021 WorldSSP300 champion Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) placed 22nd.
Oli Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) was 25th, having suffered a tech issue early in FP2.
2022 Aragon WorldSSP Results—Friday
| 1 |
Dominique Aegerter |
(Yam) |
1:53.407s |
| 2 |
Nicolo Bulega |
(Duc) |
+ 0.579s |
| 3 |
Lorenzo Baldassarri |
(Yam) |
+ 0.655s |
| 4 |
Niki Tuuli |
(MVA) |
+ 0.853s |
| 5 |
Can Oncu |
(Kaw) |
+ 0.908s |
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