Alvaro Bautista finished ahead of surprise package Dominique Aegerter to win the WSBK Jerez Superpole race on Sunday.
Bautista slipped down from pole to third in the opening corners, while Alex Lowes led Aegeter. But two laps in, Razgatlioglu had moved up six positions to lead the field.
With seven laps to go Aegerter's Ducati had a massive blowout, sending him off the track and into the gravel. The incident left fluid on the track and the race was red-flagged. To add to the drama, there was a brief rainshower during the break.
On the restart, Rea moved to the head of the race ahead of Aegerter on his spare machine, while Bautista lurked in third. But the Northern Irishman made a huge error on Turn 1, running wide and slipping down to fifth.
It didn't take long for the champion-to-be to breeze past Aegerter and open up a lead at the front. Meanwhile, Lowes tried to get through Razgatlioglu for third, but made minor contact into the first corner, sending him into the gravel and out of the race.
With three laps to go, Rea battled back to be all over the rear wheel of Razgatlioglu. The former world champions swapped positions, but Rea would hold onto third in the end.
At the head of the race, Bautista crossed the line in splendid isolation, a picture very familiar to WSBK fans in 2023.
Superpole results:
1 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.It Racing Ducati 8 Laps
2 Dominique Aegerter SWI GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +1.487s
3 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +3.124s
4 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +3.581s
5 Andrea Locatelli ITA Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +5.716s
6 Remy Gardner AUS GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +6.268s
7 Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +6.572s
8 Michael Van Der Mark NED ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +6.878s
9 Danilo Petrucci ITA Barni Spark Racing Team +7.342s
10 Xavi Vierge SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +8.522s
11 Michael Ruben Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Racing Ducati +12.320s
12 Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA GMT94 Yamaha +12.772s
13 Iker Lecuona SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +13.043s
14 Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW +14.586s
15 Tito Rabat SPA Puccetti Kawasaki +17.734s
16 Hafizh Syahrin MAL PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing +22.082s
17 Florian Alt GER Team HRC +25.785s
18 Gabriele Ruiu ITA Bmax Racing BWM +25.908s
19 Leandro Mercado ARG PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing +26.403s
20 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +28.518s
21 Garrett Gerloff USA Bonovo Action BMW DNF
22 Scott Redding GBR ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team DNF
23 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK DNF