Alvaro Bautista's strong start to the season continued as he held on for victory despite late pressure from Toprak Razgatlioglu in the first race of round five of the 2023 World Superbike championship at Misano, Italy.
Bautista won his second Misano World Superbike in a row after red flags brought the race to a premature end.
Razgatlioglu got off to a better start but could not overtake Bautista at turn one. However, the Turkish rider did break through at turn four after GRT Yamaha teammates Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner had crashed into one another at turn two. Aegerter and Danilo Petrucci brushed one another, forcing Aegerter into his teammate.
Meanwhile, there was a battle going on for P3 between two Italians Ruben Rinaldi and Axel Bassani, who also clashed in Barcelona. This time Bassani got in front but Rinaldi dove to the inside of the Ducati rider at turn 14 and reclaimed third place.
Back at the front, Razgatlioglu was putting Bautista under the pump and regained the lead on lap five. Petrucci's night got darker after he collided with Iker Lecuona.
However, just moments before the red flags were deployed, Bautista usurped Razgatlioglu as confirmation the race would not be able to resume seeing the Spaniard secure victory.
RESULTS:
1 Alvaro Bautista SPA Aruba.It Racing Ducati 7 Laps
2 Toprak Razgatlioglu TUR Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +0.101s
3 Michael Ruben Rinaldi ITA Aruba.It Racing Ducati +0.738s
4 Axel Bassani ITA Motocorsa Ducati +2.239s
5 Jonathan Rea GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +2.490s
6 Alex Lowes GBR Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK +3.955s
7 Andrea Locatelli ITA Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK +1 Lap
8 Xavi Vierge SPA Team HRC WorldSBK +1 Lap
9 Garrett Gerloff USA Bonovo Action BMW +1 Lap
10 Philipp Oettl GER GoEleven Ducati +1 Lap
11 Scott Redding GBR ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +1 Lap
12 Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA GMT94 Yamaha +1 Lap
13 Loris Baz FRA Bonovo Action BMW +1 Lap
14 Bradley Ray GBR Motoxracing Yamaha WorldSBK Team +1 Lap
15 Hafizh Syahrin MAL PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing +1 Lap
16 Tito Rabat SPA Puccetti Kawasaki +1 Lap
17 Isaac Vinales SPA TPR by Vinales Racing +1 Lap
18 Luca Vitali ITA Orelac Racing Kawasaki +1 Lap
19 Ryo Mizuno JAP PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Racing +1 Lap
20 Tom Sykes GBR ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team +1 Lap
21 Dominique Aegerter SWI GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team +1 Lap
22 Danilo Petrucci ITA Barni Spark Racing Team DNF
23 Iker Lecuona SPA Team HRC WorldSBK DNF
24 Remy Gardner AUS GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team DNF
25 Gabriele Ruiu ITA Bmax Racing BWM DNF