Alvaro Bautista continued his unbeaten 2023 WSBK season with another flawless performance in Race 1 at Mandalika in Indonesia on Saturday.
There was drama in the opening corner, with Michael Ruben Rinaldi just clipping the back of Axel Bassani's Ducati, sending him off the track and out of the race altogether.
Bassani held on to third, while Bautista and Razgatlioglu seemed oblivious to the carnage behind them. With 17 laps to go, Bautista managed to get on the inside of the Turkish challenger in the final corner and like a cork out of the bottle, he disappeared into the distance.
VICTORY FOR @19Bautista AS HIS PERFECT START TO THE SEASON CONTINUES ??????#IDNWorldSBK ???? pic.twitter.com/mRpbnOfka8
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) March 4, 2023
Andrea Locatelli would eventually hunt down Bassani for third, where he would seemingly race alone.
Meanwhile, the record-breaking Jonathan Rea continued his fall from grace on a struggling Kawasaki. In arguably his worst performance since joining the manufacturer, he almost took out his teammate while scrapping for a lowly ninth place in the dying embers of the race.
Meanwhile, at the head of the pack, Bautista would cross the finish line over five seconds ahead of Razgatlioglu in splendid isolation to continue his dominance.
A fourth win of 2023 for @19Bautista with @toprak_tr54 2nd and Andrea Locatelli 3rd ??????#IDNWorldSBK ???? pic.twitter.com/Vq1eTUvccK
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) March 4, 2023
Race 1 results
1 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.It Racing Ducati 21 Laps
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +4.809s
3 Andrea Locatelli ITA Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +6.586s
4 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +8.871s
5 Danilo Petrucci ITA Barni Spark Racing Team +11.667s
6 Michael Van Der Mark NED ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +12.685s
7 Xavi Vierge SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +13.610s
8 Dominique Aegerter SWI GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +13.961s
9 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +14.454s
10 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +14.590s
11 Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW +16.431s
12 Iker Lecuona SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +16.793s
13 Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +26.167s
14 Garrett Gerloff USA Bonovo Action BMW +30.580s
15 Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA GMT94 Yamaha +35.520s
16 Hafizh Syahrin MAL PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing +1'02.195s
17 Oliver Konig CZE Orelac Racing Kawasaki +1'09.875s
18 Tom Sykes GBR Puccetti Kawasaki +4 Laps
19 Michael Ruben Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Racing Ducati DNF
20 Scott Redding GBR ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team DNF
Moments from Race 1?? podium ??
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) March 4, 2023
Who is already looking forward to seeing them on the track again? ?? #IDNWorldSBK ???? pic.twitter.com/WYDxDo6izi