Champion Bautista finishes WSBK season in style in Jerez

A dramatic WSBK season finale saw Alvaro Bautista beat Toprak Razgatlioglu in Race 2 at Jerez due to a technicality.

Jonathan Rea - running in his last race with Kawasaki - enjoyed the brighter start, overtaking pole-sitter Alvaro Bautista in the opening corners. Toprak Razgatlioglu then relegated Bautista to third with a fantastic manoeuvre on the second lap, while Dominque Aergerter held off Andrea Locatelli for fourth.

With 16 laps to go, there was drama at the front as Rea lost the bike underneath him on Turn 2. While he was able to rejoin the race at the back of the field, he knew he was out of contention for top finish.

Bautista finally began to reel off the fastest sectors mid-race as he closed in on Razgatlioglu's Yamaha. The Turkish rider continued to be absolutely Herculean on the brakes, the only thing keeping him in the lead of the race while Bautista struggled to find a way through. The battle brought Aegerter and Micahel Ruben Rinaldi into the fold behind the leaders.

Finally, through turns 11 and 12 with eight laps to go, Bautista managed to eke ahead of his rival. But he was unable to pull away and the neck-and-neck racing continued as Razgatlioglu and the Spaniard swapped positions multiple times.

Ultimately, Razgatlioglu would put together an incredible ride to edge Bautista on the line. But there was more drama as the race stewards penalised Razgatlioglu for exceeding track limits on Turn 13, dropping him down one position.

The win saw Bautista finish the season with no less than six hat-trick victories on his way to a second WSBK title.