MotoMatters.com | Kropotkin Thinks

World Superbike's last race of the weekend once again avoided the rain. The temperature was climbing and would once again punish the tyres.

Alvaro Bautista got the lead into turn one from pole position, ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Jonathan Rea who overtook Toprak Razgatlioglu around the outside into turn two. Alex Lowes, showing solid pace all weekend, crashed out at turn ten as Jonathan Rea stared at his front tyre. Scott Redding crashed at the last corner of the first lap.

Lap two, Bautista led Rinaldi, Rea and Razgatlioglu. Behind them, Axel Bassani held off Xavi Vierge, Andrea Locatelli and Iker Lecuona. Lap two, Iker Lecuona set a fastest lap of 1'42.357 in eighth place as Alvaro Bautista had a lead of over a second from his teammate Rinaldi. Axel Bassani faced his way past Razgatlioglu and took third off Rea in turn ten, but at turn eleven, Rea struck back, taking second place at the start of lap three but Rinaldi's drive out of turn three and into turn four put him back ahead of Rea.

Andrea Locatelli crashed out at turn ten as Alvaro Bautista set a 1'42.357 fastest lap. Bassani wedged under Rea top take third place to put three Ducatis in front of the six-time world champion. 

At the start of lap six, after Bautista set another fastest lap - a 1'42.181, Bautista had a lead over two seconds over Rinaldi and Bassani. Behind the Ducatis, Rea led Razgatliolgu with Vierge over a second behind them. Bassani tried some tight passes on Rinaldi, but Rinaldi made himself difficult to pass. Bassani finally got past at the hairpin to lead the group of Rinaldi, Rea and Razgatlioglu, three and a half seconds behind Bautista. Eight laps in. Rea probed for a way past Rinaldi, all over the back of Hin into corners, but Rinaldi had the jump out of corners. 

Jonathan Rea stuck a pass under Michael Ruben Rinaldi at turn ten, but Rinaldi powered past Rea down the finish straight. Rinaldi build on his pace to briefly hold second place five seconds behind Bautista at the turn ten hairpin and took it back down the straight. Rea got sucked in to outbrake himself into turn one and went wide, letting Razgatlioglu take fourth place from him. 

At half race distance, Bautista led Rinaldi and Bassani by over five seconds, with Razgatlioglu and Rea behind the three Ducatis. Almost three seconds off Rea, the Hondas of Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona. Garrett Gerloff walked away from a turn two crash.

Lap thirteen and Bautista led by over six seconds, with the four-rider group behind him covered by under a second. Every lap he was the fastest man on track, increasing his lead every lap. Axel Bassani made a mistake into turn twelve and Razgatlioglu went underneath the wide bike, and Rea followed as Bassani had to stick to a wider line. Down the straight, Rea pulled alongside Razgatlioglu and Bassani and snuck underneath both of them into turn one to take third place behind Rinaldi.

Rea and Razgatlioglu started to break away from Bassani whose tyre looked like it was starting to go away from him. Rea and Razgatlioglu were also closing on second-placed Rinaldi as they put over a second between them and Bassani. Razgatlioglu and Bassani both took advantage of Rea making a mistake going wide into turn seven to both pass him, but Rea took fourth back off Bassani down the straight to start lap seventeen. 

With two laps left, Alvaro Bautista led Michael Ruben Rinaldi and Toprak Razgatlioglu by over nine seconds with Jonathan Rea almost two seconds further back, having left Axel Bassani over two seconds behind him. A lap later, the gaps extended with Bautista leading by almost ten seconds at the front and Rinaldi almost a second clear of Razgatlioglu. 

Alvaro Bautista won by eight seconds after he took a few seconds to celebrate his first triple win of the season down the straight, dancing over the finish line. Michael Ruben Rinaldi finished second, the first one-two of the season, after a processional handful of last laps, with Toprak Razgatlioglu taking the last step of the podium a second ahead of Jonathan Rea. Axel Bassani was over five seconds behind Rea and four seconds from Xavi Vierge.

Alvaro Bautista predictably extended his lead over Toprak Razgatlioglu to fifty nine points with Michael Ruben Rinaldi's second place holding off Bautista's title rivals. Razgatlioglu's podium increased his lead over Jonathan Rea to eight points.

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