The World Superbike Championship (WorldSBK) witnessed a historic moment on Sunday, as Alvaro Bautista of Team HRC became the first rider to win a race at the Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic. The Spaniard dominated the 23-lap race from pole position, setting a new lap record and beating the reigning champion Jonathan Rea by more than six seconds.
Bautista’s flawless performance
Bautista, who had qualified on pole for the first time in his WorldSBK career, made a perfect start and pulled away from the pack with his Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP. He set a blistering pace throughout the race, breaking the lap record three times and posting a best time of 1:32.657. He crossed the finish line with a comfortable margin of 6.243 seconds over Rea, who had started from ninth on the grid.
This was Bautista’s second win of the season and his first since round two in Estoril. He also became the first Honda rider to win two races in a season since Jonathan Rea in 2014. He dedicated his victory to his team and his family, who were present at the circuit.
“I’m really happy because this is a special win for me,” Bautista said. “It’s the first time that I win in front of my family, my wife and my son, so it’s very emotional. It’s also the first time that I win in a new track for WorldSBK, so it’s a double satisfaction. I want to thank my team because they did an amazing job this weekend. We improved the bike a lot and we were able to be competitive in every condition.”
Rea’s remarkable recovery
Rea, who had crashed out of the Superpole race earlier in the day, had to start from the third row of the grid for the main race. However, the six-time world champion showed his class and determination as he carved his way through the field. He passed his main rival Toprak Razgatlioglu on lap four and then overtook Scott Redding on lap seven to move into second place.
Rea tried to chase down Bautista, but he soon realized that he could not match his pace. He decided to settle for second place and secure 20 valuable points for the championship. He also extended his lead over Razgatlioglu, who crashed out of the race on lap 13 while battling with Redding for third place.
“It was a very positive race for us because we scored 20 points and we increased our advantage in the championship,” Rea said. “It was a shame that I crashed in the Superpole race because I lost some grid positions, but I made a good start and I pushed very hard in the first laps. I saw that Bautista was very fast and I tried to catch him, but he was too strong today. He deserved to win, he did an incredible job.”
Redding completes the podium
Redding, who had finished second in the Superpole race, was hoping to challenge Bautista for the win in the main race. However, the Ducati rider struggled with tyre wear and could not keep up with Bautista’s pace. He also had to fend off the attacks of Rea and Razgatlioglu, who both passed him in the early stages of the race.
Redding regained third place after Razgatlioglu’s crash, but he had to defend it from Michael van der Mark, who was closing in on him on his BMW M 1000 RR. Redding managed to hold off van der Mark by 0.822 seconds and secured his seventh podium of the season.
“It was a tough race because I didn’t have a good feeling with the rear tyre,” Redding said. “I tried to stay with Bautista, but he was too fast and I couldn’t follow him. I had a good fight with Rea and Toprak, but they were faster than me today. I’m happy to finish on the podium, but I’m not satisfied with my performance. We need to work harder to improve our package.”
The rest of the top ten
Van der Mark finished fourth, equaling his best result of the season. He was followed by his teammate Tom Sykes, who completed a strong weekend for BMW with fifth place.
Alex Lowes was sixth on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR, ahead of Chaz Davies on his Ducati Panigale V4 R. Davies had started from 16th on the grid after crashing in both races on Saturday.
Garrett Gerloff was eighth on his Yamaha YZF-R1, ahead of Axel Bassani on his Ducati Panigale V4 R. Bassani had qualified on the front row for the first time in his WorldSBK career, but he lost ground in the opening laps.
Leon Haslam rounded out the top ten on his Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP, making it a double top-ten finish for Team HRC.
The championship standings
Rea leads the championship with 266 points, 37 more than Razgatlioglu, who remains second with 229 points. Redding is third with 204 points, followed by Lowes with 169 points and Rinaldi with 159 points.
Bautista moves up to sixth place with 142 points, ahead of van der Mark with 132 points and Gerloff with 103 points. Sykes is ninth with 100 points and Davies is tenth with 86 points.
The WorldSBK will resume after a summer break with round nine at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France on September 3-5.
