Spain’s Alvaro Bautista stole the show in Australia, first by winning an epic Superpole Race and then by winning race two to wrap up an ultra-successful 2022 World Superbike Championships season.
It would have been impossible to think of a more exciting end to the season at the 12th and final round at Phillip Island, in Australia.
Bautista was not content with the riders’ title won in Indonesia and in Australia he gave the Aruba.it Racing Ducati team more extraordinary emotions.
The last Sunday of the 2022 WSBK season began with an epic Superpole Race that deserves to be recounted.
A sudden downpour drenched the track just a few minutes before the start and Bautista opted for a brave choice: Slick tyres on both front and rear.
In the first laps the Spanish rider – who started from pole position – lost ground, finding himself in 16th position, almost 10 seconds behind the leader.
From the middle of the race, however, the track began to dry out and Bautista’s sensational comeback was completed two laps from the end when he took first position to triumph with a wide margin under the chequered flag.
Then came race two, held this time in dry conditions.
After battling with Alex Lowes, Scott Redding, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea, on lap six the rider from Talavera took the lead. The duel with Rea was exciting, but with five laps to go the red flag declared the end of the race giving way to celebrations in the garage.
“What can I say: I am really happy to have ended the season like this, giving great satisfaction to the whole Aruba.it Racing Ducati team,” said Bautista.
“I think the Superpole Race was one of the best victories for me in World Superbike. On the grid, I spoke with Giulio (Nava) and I asked to put the slick on. I had confidence even though after the warm-up lap I had some doubts. I’m too old for these things, I have a wonderful family, maybe next time I’ll think twice. Joking aside, it was a wonderful Sunday. Now we go home but the celebrations are not over. What a season!”
Photo courtesy Ducati
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Final leading WSBK World Championship standings:
- Alvaro Bautista, Ducati, 601 pts
- Toprak Razgatlioglu, Yamaha, 529 pts
- Jonathan Rea, Kawasaki, 502 pts
- Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Ducati, 293 pts
- Andrea Locatelli, Yamaha, 274 pts
- Alex Lowes, Kawasaki, 272 pts
- Axel Bassani, Ducati, 244 pts
- Scott Redding, BMW, 204 pts
- Iker Lecuona, Honda, 189 pts
- Xavi Vierge, Honda, 164 pts