The Superbike World Championship took place this weekend in Mandalika (Indonesia). Also in the second race Alvaro Bautista could prevail and drove towards his fifth victory of the season. The race was overshadowed by many crashes, including a serious accident involving Michael van der Mark (BMW) and Philipp Öttl (GoEleven-Ducati), which ended the race with a red flag at first.
Yamaha factory duo in front after the start
In the final race, Toprak Razgatlioglu started from pole position and shared the front row of the grid with Yamaha teammate Andrea Locatelli and Kawasaki rider Alex Lowes. Alvaro Bautista had to start the second race from tenth position after his crash in the sprint race. At the start, Razgatlioglu took the lead and led the field. His teammate Locatelli followed him. Jonathan Rea moved up to third position. Bautista struggled to make up many positions and finished the first lap in eighth place.
Ducati, Yamaha and Honda on front row at restart
After the red flag fell, the race distance was set at 14 laps in the second part of the race and Michael Rinaldi started from pole position. He formed the front row of the grid with Razgatlioglu and Xavi Vierge. Razgatlioglu was unable to follow the factory Ducatis and was put under pressure by Xavi Vierge. Jonathan Rea had to retire after nine laps due to a crash, while Bautista was still able to catch up with his teammate Rinaldi.
Ducati, Yamaha and Honda on the podium
Michael Rinaldi was leading the race, but his pace increasingly slowed. Bautista was getting closer and closer. Bautista took the lead two laps before the end of the race. Rinaldi lost control of his bike on the last lap and slid off the line. This cost him the podium. Razgatlioglu took over the second position and Rinaldi was only fourth. The podium was occupied by Ducati, Yamaha and Honda, with Xavi Vierge achieving his first podium in the World Superbike Championship.
Another defeat for the series champions: no Kawasaki in the top 12
Kawasaki suffered another disappointing race as Alex Lowes was the best Kawasaki rider, finishing only 13th. Jonathan Rea slipped to sixth in the riders’ standings, while Alex Lowes is twelfth. The next World Superbike Championship race will be held at Assen at the end of April.
