(Motorsport-Total.com) – Ducati factory pilot Alvaro Bautista takes first place in the first race and the Superpole of the MotoGP World Superbike Championship in Misano. In the Superpole, Bautista set a new lap record on his Ducati Panigale V4R. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) completed first grade (see score).
© Ducati
Alvaro Bautista secured his first position of the season
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Prior to the Superpole match, Alvaro Bautista’s best FT3 performance (1min 33.721secs) was the fastest of the weekend. Jonathan Rea set the record for the lead by setting the 1:33.416 lap he set in the event a year ago. Since 2011, Kawasaki has been in the lead nine times in a row. The winning streak ended today.
On the first try with the SCQ soft tire, Toprak Razgatlioglu pushed himself over the top with a 1:33.608 lap. Alvaro Bautista was 0.172sec slower, Jonathan Rea was 0.357sec slower in the first exchange, but he was using only the SCX tire. Honda rider Ecker crashed Lacona on the first try but was able to continue the course.
Jonathan Rhea and Kawasaki considered a different strategy from their opponents. Rea only used SCQ frames on the second try. The Factory Kawasaki captain took the lead with a 1:33.523 lap lead.
At the second attempt, Alvaro Bautista advanced to first place with a difference of 1:33.328 laps, thus setting a new lap record. A Christophe Bunson (Yamaha generation) crash caused yellow flags to appear. Ponson debated for a long time with the Marshall family, who were unwilling to allow the French to continue.
Alvaro Bautista made his first start of the 2022 WSBK season
Jonathan Rhea and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu had no answer about the time of Alvaro Bautista. Toprak Razgatlioglu missed the best time by 0.137 seconds. Jonathan Rhea was third, 0.190 seconds behind.
© Ducati
Championship leader Alvaro Bautista is the favorite for Saturday’s race Zoom
Alvaro Bautista secured his first pole of the 2022 season at the Ducati Tour at home in Misano. “It is the best place to secure first place in the first place this season,” the Spaniard commented. “I’m really happy that I was able to do it here. I’m also really happy with the great feeling on the bike.”
“On Friday we made a change to the setting. We went back to the settings I had in the winter test when I had the best feeling. We were not only fast at race speed today but also in lap. I can attack and feel confident about the three races in Misano,” Bautista says with confidence of the three races in Misano. Very good.
Honda and BMW are in the third row of the grid
Using Kawasaki teammate Jonathan Rhea as a reference on the second try, Alex Loews climbed to fourth. Lowes was 0.341 seconds behind on the last try. Michael Rinaldi (Ducati) and Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) completed the second row of the grid.
© Motorsport Pictures
Philip Uttle did not test well Zoom
Two Factory Hondas driven by Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona are in the third row on the seventh and eighth grid positions. Scott Redding was BMW’s best driver in ninth place. The Briton completes the third grade. The fourth row is made up of Axel Bassani (Motocorsa-Ducati), Garrett Gerloff (GRT-Yamaha) and Loris Baz (Bonovo-BMW).
Philip Uttle (GoEleven-Ducati) couldn’t match his time in FT3. The German clocked 1.202 seconds in the Superpole and is 13th on the grid. Roberto Tamborini (Motoxracing-Yamaha) and Kohta Nozane (GRT-Yamaha) completed the fifth row.
The first WSBK race in Misano starts at 2:00 PM (to TV overview).
