Alvaro Bautista, Superpole race, Australian WorldSBK, 20 November
Alvaro Bautista, Superpole race, Australian WorldSBK, 20 November

AS IT HAPPENED Bautista wins red-flagged race 2 at the Phillip Island finale

This is it! The season finale for the 2022 World Superbike championship starts at 4pm local time (5am UK) at Phillip Island in Australia.

Jonathan Rea ended a 24-race drought with victory in Saturday's wet-dry opening race, before a dramatic damp Superpole sprint was won by Alvaro Bautista after a brave slick tyre gamble this morning.

That means Bautista goes into race 2 - where rain showers could again be a factor - with 15 wins for the season, one ahead of outgoing champion Razgatlioglu.

But who will claim glory during the final Bautista-Rea-Razgatlioglu battle of the year?

20 Nov 2022
05:01

22 to go: Bautista leads the field through the fast turn 1 plunge chased by Rea and Redding.

04:57

The grid is being cleared and the warm-up lap gets underway with Bautista on pole from Razgatlioglu and Rea.

04:54

Blue sky and white clouds overhead but some are predicting showers for the closing stages of the race.

04:52

This will also be the last race of Eugene Laverty's illustrious WorldSBK career, a winner of 13 WorldSBK races and 12 in WSS.