San Juan WorldSBK Race (2) Results: Bautista completes stunning double
Alvaro Bautista wins his second WorldSBK race of the San Juan round after another dominant feature race performance.
Despite securing the top two spots on the grid following their 1-2 finish in the Superpole race, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Bautista went backwards off the line as Jonathan Rea and Michael Ruben Rinaldi blasted past the top two in the championship.
Lap two saw even more drama between the leaders as Rea attempted to take the lead at turn seven before running wide.
The mistake allowed team-mate Alex Lowes to come through before another error at turn eight saw Rea drop down to sixth place.
Lowes was next to try and overtake race leader Rinaldi, however, the Italian used the Ducati’s top speed to get back through along the back-straight.
Shaping up for another move on Rinaldi, Lowes was instead pushed down to fourth as Bautista and Razgatlioglu made quick-fire overtakes on the Kawasaki man.
| 2022 World Superbike San Juan, Argentina - Race Results (2) | ||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Aruba.It Racing Ducati | 21 Laps |
| 2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK | +3.389s |
| 3 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | +9.784s |
| 4 | Alex Lowes | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | +11.650s |
| 5 | Michael Rinaldi | ITA | Aruba.It Racing Ducati | +15.656s |
| 6 | Xavi Vierge | SPA | Team HRC WorldSBK | +16.381s |
| 7 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | Team HRC WorldSBK | +16.584s |
| 8 | Andrea Locatelli | ITA | PATA Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK | +20.401s |
| 9 | Scott Redding | GBR | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | +21.420s |
| 10 | Michael Van Der Mark | SPA | BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | +22.413s |
| 11 | Eugene Laverty | IRL | Bonovo Action BMW | +30.732s |
| 12 | Garrett Gerloff | USA | GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | +32.655s |
| 13 | Xavi Fores | SPA | Barni Spark Ducati Team | +34.058s |
| 14 | Philipp Oettl | GER | GoEleven Ducati | +38.422s |
| 15 | Lucas Mahias | FRA | Puccetti Kawasaki | +39.689s |
| 16 | Kohta Nozane | JPN | GRT Yamaha | +41.107s |
| 17 | Loris Baz | FRA | Bonovo Action BMW | +44.469s |
| 18 | Oliver Konig | CZE | Orelac Racing Kawasaki | +49.119s |
| 19 | Leandro Mercado | ARG | MIE Honda Racing | +54.421s |
| 20 | Axel Bassani | ITA | Motocorsa Ducati | +1'06.518s |
| 21 | Maximilian Scheib | GER | MIE Honda Racing | +1'17.049s |
| 22 | Marco Solorza | ARG | Pedercini Kawasaki | +1'37.575s |
Rinaldi then suffered his own drop down the field as Bautista came through on lap four, before Razgatlioglu, Lowes and Rea all made moves on the Italian.
Unfortunately for Lowes and Rea, the two Kawasaki riders took too much time coming through and thus lost touch with the leading duo.
While he was able to fight back against Bautista in the Superpole race, Razgatlioglu, who desperately needed to fight back immediately whenever Bautista took the lead, began to see the gap grow between himself and the series leader.
With nine laps remaining Bautista managed to edge his lead out to nine tenths, while Lowes was also pulling clear of Rea.
Axel Bassani was given a Long Lap penalty after causing Loris Baz to crash out on lap two, before that turned into a double Long Lap penalty for failing to adhere to the punishment within the three-lap limit.
Lowes managed to increase his advantage over Rea to seven tenths with ten laps remaining, before the six-time world champion slowly started chipping away.
While Bautista’s lead grew to over two seconds, Rea finally made his move on Lowes for third with four laps remaining.
Bassani was then awarded a ride-through penalty after failing to take his two Long Lap penalties.
San Juan WorldSBK Records:
Lap record: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha 1:36.216s (2022)
2021 San Juan Winners
Race 1: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha
Superpole Race: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha
Race 2: Scott Redding GBR Aruba.it Ducati
2022 San Juan Winners
Race 1: Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.it Ducati
Superpole Race: Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha
Marco Solorza is replacing Leon Haslam at Pedercini Kawasaki this weekend, while Maximilian Scheib is stepping in for Hafizh Syahrin who was ruled out due to injury and illness.
Xavi Fores is also returning to WorldSBK as he replaces Luca Bernardi at Barni Spark Racing Ducati, after the Italian was demoted to WorldSSP with CM Ducati.
Prior to FP1 getting underway it was confirmed that Leandro Mercado won’t be continuing with MIE Honda in 2023.
San Juan Weekend schedule (UK time)
Friday
Free Practice 1: 14:30-15:15
Free Practice 2: 19:00-19:45
Saturday
Free Practice 3: 14:00-14:30
Superpole: 16:10-16:25
Race 1: 19:00
Sunday
Warm-up: 14:00-14:10
Superpole Race: 16:00
Race 2: 19:00
