Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista equalled the record for the most consecutive World Superbike wins after battling to victory in a thrilling opening race of the weekend at Donington Park.
The reigning champion and title leader had to fight hard for his victory though, having fallen as low as third early on.
He led the first couple of laps after passing Rea on the approach to Redgate, but the Spaniard wasn’t able to stretch a lead, with Rea taking the advantage on lap two when the reigning champion went deep at the Fogarty Esses.
Razgatlioglu was the next rider to pass Bautista at Melbourne on lap three, and he set off in pursuit of Rea who had established a half second gap at the front.
Razgatlioglu took the lead on lap six, with another up the inside move at Melbourne, demoting Rea to second, but the Northern Irishman fought back, getting a great run exiting the Old Hairpin to retake the position.
Moments later, Razgatlioglu was back past with a third move at Melbourne, with the squabble for the lead allowing Bautista and Lowes behind to close up.
As Lowes attempted a pass on Bautista at the Old Hairpin on lap eight, Rea tried to repeat his previous move for the lead on Razgatlioglu but didn’t succeed this time around, with Bautista instead passing Rea for second at Foggy’s moments later.
Next time around, Bautista was back in the lead, blasting past Razgatlioglu exiting Coppice, and this time the pack had no answer, as the Spaniard gradually extended his advantage, whilst also setting a new race lap record of 1m26.550s on his 16th tour.
Bautista crossed the line at the end of the 23-lap contest with a 3.7 second margin over Razgatlioglu, whilst pole-sitter Rea had to settle for third, after fending off Barni Spark Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci, who claimed a career best result of fourth. Bautista's victory is his first at Donington Park since his 125cc triumph back in 2006. Rea's podium is his 250th in WorldSBK.
Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli passed Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes for fifth place on lap 21, with Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) ahead of ROKiT BMW duo Scott Redding and Tom Sykes, with Redding earning the position with a last lap move at Melbourne. Remi Gardner completed the top-10 for GYTR GRT Yamaha.
The second WorldSBK contest of the weekend, the Tissot Superpole Race, is due to start at 13.00 tomorrow, with Race Two scheduled for 16.00.
Motul FIM Superbike World Championship, Donington Park Race One result:
1. Alvaro Bautista, Aruba.it Racing Ducati, 23 laps
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu, Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK, +3.718s
3. Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK, +6.115s
4. Danilo Petrucci, Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati, +7.855s
5. Andrea Locatelli, Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK, +10.738s
6. Alex Lowes, Kawasaki Racing Team KRT, 11.143s
7. Axel Bassani, Motocorsa Racing Ducati, +12.025s
8. Scott Redding, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, +12.638s
9. Tom Sykes, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team, +12.754s
10. Remy Gardner, GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team, +25.944s
Tickets for the Motul FIM Superbike World Championship at Donington Park are available upon arrival at gate prices all weekend, with free entry for children under-13. For more information, click here.