(Motorsport-Total.com) – Ducati factory pilot Alvaro Bautista won the Superpole race at the World Superbike Championship in Assen (Netherlands). As in the first race, the Spaniard defeated Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) (in the race result).
Alvaro Bautista celebrated his seventh victory in the eighth race of the season
Superbike World Champion Alvaro Bautista started the sprint from pole position. The front row was completed by Jonathan Rey and Toprak Razgatlioglu. For BMW driver Loris Paz, the race was over before the start. The Frenchman broke into the formation round with a technical fault.
The start was late and there was confusion in the starting grid. The race director decided to check the condition of the circuit. Reason: Buzz’s bike lost fluids in the warm-up.
The race distance was reduced from ten to eight laps. The race started at 11:15 am.
Jonathan Rea takes the lead at the start
Jonathan Rea won the race until the first corner. Alvaro Bautista entered the first corner in second place, and Toprak Razgatlioglu third. On the first lap, Bautista came out on top. But the world champion could not break away.
Bautista, Rea and Razgatlioglu pulled away slightly from the rest of the field. Behind them, Lowes fought hard to catch up. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa-Ducati), Dominique Aegerter (GRT-Yamaha) and Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) battled in a group for fifth place.
Alvaro Bautista continues his winning streak
Halfway through the race, Rea increased pressure on Bautista. Rea was clearly faster on the slalom section, but Bautista kept making up a few meters on the straights. Razgatlioglu struggled to follow the leading pair.
With two laps left in the race, Bautista managed to pull away a bit and came into the final lap with a 0.5 second lead. The defending champion also won the sprint, extending his lead in the championship.
Rea finished 0.9 seconds back, while Razgatlioglu crossed the finish line 1.8 seconds back. Alex Laws finished fourth, 3.1 seconds behind.
Dominique Aegerter on P7, Philipp Öttl only on P14
Locatelli finished fifth in the group, relegating Bassani and Egerter to sixth and seventh. The final points went to Works BMW driver Scott Redding in eighth and Honda driver Xavi Vierg. Local champion Michael van der Mark (BMW) finished 10th empty-handed.
Dominique Eggerer fought for a top 5 score
Philipp Öttl (GoEleven-Ducati) could not overtake P14 and was 12.0 seconds back. The German dueled with his Ducati brand-mates Michael Rinaldi (P13, +11.8 s) and Danilo Petrucci (P15, +12.8 s), who also finished outside the points.
The second main race will start at 2:00 PM (TV overview).
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