Alvaro Bautista continued his incredible 2023 WSBK season with his 14th victory in Race 2 at Misono, Italy, on Sunday afternoon.
However, it was Toprak Razgatlioglu who enjoyed a bright start shooting to the front, while Rinaldi snuck into the second ahead of his Aruba.it Raving teammate Bautista.
While it was the furthest down the pack he'd been all weekend, it didn't last long, as Bautista overtook his teammate and then eased past Razgatlioglu for first on the second lap.
With Razgatlioglu locked in a battle with Rinaldi, Bautista sped off into the distance. And like so many races this season, the race became about second place.
Further down the field, Jonathan Rea was too aggressive on a pass attempt and gave up two places early. But the former champion rallied to put pressure on Axel Bissani in fourth.
With 14 laps to go, Alex Lowes, who had been all over the back of his teammate Rea, crashed out of the race on Turn 4.
Up ahead, a determined Razgatlioglu continued his relentless pursuit of Rinaldi, seemingly glued to the back of the Ducati as the laps ticked by. And finally with seven laps to go, a brave move from the Turkish star saw him beat Rinaldi on the breaking to move into second.
Seeking redemption, an aggressive Rinaldi then made a rash move, going too hard into Turn 1 and clipping the back of Razgatlioglu, sending himself into the gravel and out of the race. Razgatlioglu was lucky to stay on his bike.
But that allowed Bissani to move into third, where he stayed to earn his first podium of the season.
In a league of his own, Bautista - sporting a yellow livery for the team's home race - crossed the line for his tenth consecutive win and fourth hattrick of the season.