Race 1 in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship during the Motul Indonesian Round was a dramatic affair at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made it four wins in a row in the 2023 season after a fighting victory in Indonesia. Bautista went head-to-head with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in the early stages of the race at a circuit where Razgatlioglu has been so successful at since it joined the calendar in 2021.
Taking the podium: Bautista wins on Razgatlioglu’s territory…
Bautista was initially behind Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in the opening five laps of the race as the pair led the first group. The reigning Champion applied pressure to Razgatlioglu in the early stages but did make his move until Lap 5 as he caught Razgatlioglu by surprise through Turn 15 to move into the lead of the race. Razgatlioglu attempted to fight back but Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) was able to pass him a lap later at Turn 10 before the 2021 Champion responded a lap later.
Bautista’s fourth win in the 2023 season means he is now on a winning run of six races that stretches back to Phillip Island in 2022, while he also claimed his and Ducati’s first victory at Mandalika. Ducati are also edging closer to a milestone win as the Italian manufacturer now have 396 wins in WorldSBK. Bautista’s fourth consecutive means he becomes the first rider to have two consecutive streaks of four wins to start a campaign.
From there, Razgatlioglu was able to pull away from Bassani to claim second place behind Bautista as the past two WorldSBK Champions took first and second in Race 1 at Mandalika, the venue both were crowned Champions in 2021 and 2022. Razgatlioglu took his 85th podium in WorldSBK with second spot, almost five seconds down on Bautista, while it was also Yamaha’s 340th race on the podium.
Bassani then started to drop back off the top two and into the clutches of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) who started from second place. Locatelli was able to make the move on Bassani on Lap 11 at Turn 10 to move into third place for his second podium of the 2023 season. Locatelli’s third place means he now has eight podiums in WorldSBK and he remains second in the Championship standings behind Bautista.
Fighting for the top six: Ups and downs
With Bassani dropping back from the podium fight, he ended up battling with Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) for fourth spot with the pair exchanging positions on several occasions. Lowes passed Bassani at Turn 12 on Lap 12 before Bassani responded at Turn 16 to re-gain fourth place and, after that, Lowes found himself dropping down the order. He was overtaken by Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) around halfway through the race with the rookie taking his best WorldSBK finish to date with fifth. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) charged through the field in the closing stages of the race to take sixth spot in Race 1, including some incredible fights with his rivals.
Inside the top ten: Rivals surge up the order
Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) was seventh after losing out to van der Mark on Lap 20 at Turn 16 with BMW finishing as the third manufacturer. The Dutchman’s pace was strong throughout the closing stages with his personal best lap being set on the final lap of the race and was just a couple of tenths down on the fastest lap of the race. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) claimed eighth spot after taking advantage of a Kawasaki squabble on the final lap at Turn 1 to pass both Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and teammate Alex Lowes who finished ninth and tenth respectively.
Rea had taken fifth in the Tissot Superpole session but was demoted three places on the grid which forced him to start from eighth. Although he looked to make progress in the early stages, the six-time Champion dropped down the order to finish ninth after a last-lap scrap with his teammate. Rea made a move at Turn 1 on the final lap to try and move ahead, but Aegerter was able to swoop past both of them to claim eighth spot.
Taking home points: Completing the top 15
Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) did close up on the group inside the top ten but dropped down the order to claim 11th spot, with the Frenchman holding off a late charge from Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) who claimed 12th spot. Lecuona was ten seconds clear of German rider Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) while Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) in 14th and Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) in 15th as Baldassarri claimed his first points finish in WorldSBK.
Housekeeping: To note from Race 1
Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team) took 16th spot while Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) was 17th. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was classified in 18th spot but four laps down as visited the pit lane during the race.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was the first retirement of the race after he was involved in a Turn 1 crash on the opening lap, after a collision with Bassani. Rinaldi retired from the race but Bassani was able to continue. Rinaldi went to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. He will be reassessed ahead of Warm Up on Sunday morning after being diagnosed with a minimal head injury but no signs of concussion have been detected currently. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) brought his machine into the pits after completing 12 laps with the British rider retiring from the race.
Ahead of the race, both Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Eric Granado (PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team) were declared unfit for Saturday’s action through illness.
The top six following WorldSBK Race 1, full results here:
1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +4.809s
3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +6.586s
4. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +8.871s
5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +11.667s
6. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +12.685s
Fastest lap: Alvaro Bautista, Ducati – 1’32.803s
There was drama throughout the Superpole Race in Indonesia and Razgatlioglu claimed his first win of the 2023 season.
There was plenty of action throughout the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s Tissot Superpole Race during the Motul Indonesian Round at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit as Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) claimed his first win of the 2023 season in a dramatic, shortened Superpole Race while Championship leader Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) crashed out just shy of the halfway point in the 8-lap restarted race.
Drama from the start: Yamaha 1-2 in the Superpole Race
The original start in the Superpole Race was red flagged at the start of Lap 2. There was a crash on Lap 1 at Turn 2 involving Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team WorldSBK) with Lowes and Baz retiring from the original race but Petrucci able to continue. The incident was investigated by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards, with no further action taken. A lap later, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crashed at the same corner with the red flags deployed shortly after. Rea was able to make his way back to the pits on his machine to take the start in the restarted race, while Lowes and Baz were able to take to the restarted race.
In the restarted race, Razgatlioglu and Bautista went head-to-head on the opening lap for victory with the 2021 Champion securing his first 2023 win as he broke clear of the gap. Bautista had looked like he was going to claim second spot, but Rea closed in on him on Lap 4, making a move at Turn 12 to move into third. Rea had a massive moment right after passing Bautista on the exit of Turn 12 but saved it, while Bautista had his own moment that he couldn’t save; Bautista went down and retired from the race. That drama allowed Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) to move into second place, while Lowes took third spot at the chequered flag. It means that Razgatlioglu, Locatelli and Lowes will start Race 2 from the front row while Bautista will line up tenth.
In the top six: Fierce fights for a second-row start
Rea took fourth place in the Superpole Race after taking to the restarted race after he fended off a late challenge from Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) in fifth place, with the pair separated by just a tenth at the end of the race. The pair will line up from the second row for Race 2 later on and they will be joined by Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) as he fought his way to sixth spot and a second row start for Race 2.
Third row for Race 2: Ups and downs
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) lost ground at Turn 1 in the second half of the race as he ran wide and dropped down the order, but was able to recover to seventh place at the end of the race but he had to fend off two charging BMW riders behind him. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) took eighth ahead of teammate ninth, while Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) rounded out the top ten and was two seconds away from a place in the top nine.
Housekeeping: To note from the Superpole Race
Baz and Lowes had another collision in the restarted race with Lowes attempting to pass the French rider into Turn 10. Lowes made contact with Baz’s dangling leg with Baz taking his bike back to the pits and retiring from the race. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards while Baz was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) retired from the race after bringing his machine into the pits in the closing stages.
The top nine following the Superpole Race, full results here:
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK)
2. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +1.110s
3. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +1.372s
4. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +3.073s
5. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +3.234s
6. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) +4.251s
7. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.617s
8. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +4.792s
9. Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +5.797s
Ducati rider Bautista made it five wins out of six in 2023 as he continued his incredible start to the 2023 season after battling with his teammate.
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s visit to the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit for the Motul Indonesian Round featured another dramatic race in Race 2 as Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fought back to claim victory in Indonesia in a red-flagged Race 2 after battling with teammate Michael Ruben Rinaldi. It was also a memorable race for Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) as he claimed his first WorldSBK podium after a strong Indonesian Round.
Fighting back: Bautista fights from tenth to first…
The original race was red flagged at the start of Lap 8 after an incident at Turn 11 involving Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) with both riders retiring from the race and unable to take the restart. Van der Mark was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash. The starting grid for the restarted race was based on the last completed timing point for every rider and the race distanced reduced to 14 laps for the restarted race.
Rinaldi started the restarted race from pole position and, despite losing momentum at the start, was able to hold that throughout the opening laps of the 14-lap race. The Italian was able to take advantage of the battling behind him, including between teammate Alvaro Bautista and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) for second place. Bautista overtook Razgatlioglu on Lap 4 at Turn 15 to move into second place before setting his sights on his teammate.
The gap was at over one second at when Bautista passed Razgatlioglu before the reigning Champion started closing in on teammate. Bautista, who started the original race from tenth place after a Superpole Race crash and then fourth for the restarted race, lost time when he ran wide at Turn 1 when the gap was down to half-a-second, losing around one second, before he closed down the gap again. By Lap 11, Bautista had closed the gap back down to a tenth. Bautista made the move on his teammate on Lap 13 of 14 at Turn 10 to move into the lead of the race. Bautista had opted to switch tyres in the red flag period as he switched from the SCX tyre for the original race to the SC0 for the restarted race.
On the final lap, Rinaldi ran wide at Turn 10 and lost two positions to Razgatlioglu and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) in third place with Vierge taking his first WorldSBK podium after claiming third place after he started the restarted race from third on the grid. He was running in the chasing group throughout Race 2 and was able to take advantage of Rinaldi running wide to move into the podium places behind Razgatlioglu, who had been fighting for the podium throughout the restarted race.
Bautista was able to claim his 37th victory in WorldSBK and his fifth out of six races in 2023, while it was also his 60th podium for Ducati. This number puts him level with Troy Corser in terms of podiums for the Italian manufacturer and he sits exactly 40 behind Carl Fogarty. Razgatlioglu’s second place moved him level with Aaron Slight on 87 WorldSBK podiums while Vierge became the 128th rider to take a podium in WorldSBK.
In the top six: Six seconds separating the top six
Rinaldi ended up in fourth place and less than a second clear of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) in fifth place with the two Italians separated by just 0.780s at the end of the race. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) continued his impressive Indonesian Round with sixth place with Petrucci less than a second behind Locatelli in sixth place. Locatelli had briefly led the original race but lost ground shortly afterwards, dropping him down the order on the grid for the restarted race.
In the top ten: Sighting from the back
Australian rookie Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) overcame illness to record his best WorldSBK result to date with seventh place despite starting the original race from last place after missing Saturday’s Tissot Superpole session. Gardner was 11th on the restarted grid and moved up the order to finish ahead of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing). Bassani had been in the top four but was penalized for irresponsible riding in the original race and ordered to drop one place. As he looked to allow Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) through, Razgatlioglu was able to sneak through and Bassani lost two places. To take eighth place. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) was ninth in Race 2, ahead of Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team).
Completing the points: Leaving Indonesia with points
American star Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) finished directly behind Redding with 11th place and the pair were separated by only two tenths at the end of the race. Rookie Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) took 12th spot ahead of Lowes in 13th and Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) with the Italian bettering his previous best WorldSBK result set in Race 1. Malaysian rider Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE MS Racing HONDA Team) rounded out the last of the classified riders and the points scorers with 15th place.
Housekeeping: To note from Race 2
Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) did not get underway when the lights went out after he had a technical issue on the grid, with the Czech rider retiring from the race. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) brought his bike into the pits after five laps and, as he was not classified when the red flag was shown, did not take to the restarted race. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) crashed out of the race after he crashed at Turn 7 with the six-time Champion taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash.
The top six following WorldSBK Race 2, full results here:
1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +1.218s
3. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) +3.050s
4. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.068s
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +4.848
6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +5.838s
Fastest lap: Alvaro Bautista, Ducati – 1’32.247
Championship standings
1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 112 points
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 75
3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 70
4. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) 51
5. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 47
6. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 44