Gmacaw without history. On Phillip Island the combination Alvaro Bautista-Ducati Panigale V4R is too strong for everyone. The Spaniard took off like a missile from the first box on the grid and, as we had already seen in the Superpole Race, leaving him a clear track in front is extremely dangerous for his opponents, who risk only seeing him from afar.
In just a few laps, the world champion acquired an advantage that proved to be unbridgeable. Suffice it to say that Alvaro always lapped at a pace of 1’31 (the second fastest lap in 1’30″766) and only a few laps from the end, with six seconds ahead of Michael Ruben Rinaldi and eight on Andrea Locatelli, he slowed down to 1’32.
The news is that behind him today there are not Rea and Razgatlioglu, but three young Italians. After the Superpole Race, Michael Ruben Rinaldi proved to be the first of the “humans” in Race 2 as well, lapping at a pace of 1’31 like his teammate and finishing just six seconds behind him.
His performance today confirms the improvements that Rinaldi had shown in the winter tests, the result of a new athletic preparation and a greater conviction in his own abilities. But the real surprise of this latest Australian race is the third place of Andrea Locatelli, today faster than the sacred monsters Jonathan Rea and Toprak Razgatlioglu. Phillip Island is a track that must be tackled with fluid riding and it is no coincidence that in addition to Locatelli, another rider coming from Moto2 and Supersport like Phillip Oettl, did an excellent race with the private V4 of the GoEleven team, finishing in fifth place, the German’s best result since he has been racing in Superbike.
Between him and Locatelli we find an ever more convincing Axel Bassani. The Motocorsa Team rider fought with a knife between his teeth and without reverential fears in the group of pursuers and in the end he got the upper hand by conquering a fourth place that rewards his work and that of the Motocorsa Team, which he managed to solve in a few weeks the problems encountered on their new 2023 V4 and which seemed to be insurmountable obstacles.
Iker Lecuona closes a positive weekend with a sixth place and precedes Dominique Aegerter and Jonathan Rea. After the seventh position in the sprint race, the six-time world champion finishes eighth in a race that represents a real alarm bell for him and Kawasaki. Remaining disappointed, we must also talk about Toprak Razgatlioglu who was hit and sunk by Alex Lowes, but who would still have struggled to finish in fifth place, a position that is certainly not usual for the Yamaha Turkish rider.
Danilo Petrucci’s addiction process to the V4 continues and the Superbike. His ninth place in this race is certainly not a result to remember, but it is another step forward for the rider from Terni who certainly won’t be satisfied with a supporting role. After the combined trouble in the Superpole Race Remy Gardner closes Race2 with a tenth place without infamy and without praise, ahead of the Honda of Xavi Vierge and the usual slew of BMWs, all four in a row: Van der Mark, Redding, Gerloff and Baz from twelfth to fifteenth place finish. A sign that the bike is that and that no one can get blood out of turnips. It touches the points area Lorenzo Baldassarri who precedes Syahrin, Konig and Granado. Race and weekend to forget for Tom Sykes struggling with electrical problems on Puccetti’s Kawasaki.