Bautista Wins WorldSBK Aragon Superpole race with final lap pass on Razgatlioglu

Alvaro Bautista took an incredible victory in the Aragon Superpole race after fighting all race long with Nicolo Bulega and Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Bautista ensures that the No.1 Ducati will line up on pole position ahead of Race 2 at Aragon later this afternoon, after overtaking Toprak Razgatlioglu on the final lap of the Superpole race.

Bulega would take an early lead after starting from pole position, with Razgatlioglu immediately overtaking Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Iannone to put his BMW up onto the podium. Razgatlioglu would duel with Bulega just a short while later, as Bautista found his way into third place and began chasing the pair of them.

Alex Lowes would have a tankslapper on the exit of Turn 1, the Kawasaki throwing the Brit over the handlebars as Lowes crashed out of the race.

Bulega and Razgatlioglu would fight over first place, with Razgatlioglu’s BMW stronger down the back straight before the final few corners, where Bulega’s Ducati was stronger in the more technical parts of the circuit, as the BMW began having wheelspin coming out of certain corners in the middle sector.

Razgatlioglu would perform a brilliant block pass move on Bulega at Turn 15, which suddenly allowed for Alvaro Bautista to join the battle. Bulega would come back at Razgatlioglu after firing out of the final corner, diving to the inside of the Turkish rider into Turn 1 and reclaiming the lead briefly.

In the closing stages, Razgatlioglu would perform yet another block pass on Bulega at Turn 15, stretching his lead down the back straight. As the Ducati’s of Bautista and Bulega began to struggle for tyre grip, Razgatlioglu’s BMW entered the final couple of laps as the clear favourite to win the race.

However, with the Ducati’s both negotiating the middle sector perfectly on the penultimate lap, it put them both in contention. Suddenly, at Turn 15 on the penultimate lap, Bautista would dive up the inside of his teammate Bulega to take second place and chase after Razgatlioglu.

All three riders would be within a few motorcycle lengths of one another, as Bautista eventually managed to overtake Razgatlioglu at Turn 15, using the block pass manoeuvre to take the lead of the race. Razgatlioglu would attempt to come back at the Spaniard into the final braking zone, with Bulega just behind the pair waiting for a gap and an opportunity to present itself in the long left-hander of Turn 16.

Bautista would ride home to take an excellent victory, the Spaniard will start from pole position for Race 2 later this afternoon. Toprak Razgatlioglu would finish in second place for the second time this weekend, however extends his championship lead over Nicolo Bulega who finished just one place behind the Turkish rider. Bulega now sits at just over 30 points down on the reigning champion.

The WorldSBK Aragon Race 2 starts at 13:00 UK time.

Featured Image: Ducati Corse Media