The first Aruba.it Racing - Ducati one-two of the season saw Alvaro Bautista claim the honours in Race 2 ahead of Nicolo Bulega.
The final day of the Pirelli Catalunya Round saw a daring last corner move from Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) surprise Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to take the victory in the Tissot Superpole Race. The Turkish rider became the first BMW rider since Chaz Davies in 2013 to take back to back WorldSBK wins. Despite having to settle for a podium in Race 2 this was a superb weekend for Razgatlioglu who now sits fourth in the Championship standings.
The much touted battle of Alvaro Bautista versus Nicolo Bulega played out in Race 2. On this occasion it was double WorldSBK Champion Bautista who used his guile to win. The victory margin would eventually be just over two seconds with Bautista completing a weekend of podium finishes having dropped from the lead to third at the final corner of the Superpole Race.
Bulega, from pole position in the Superpole Race finished fourth before his second place finish in Race 2. The final race of the day also marked the first points of the season for Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) who finished in eighth position.
With four different winners from the opening six races of the season the 2024 WorldSBK season has started in style!
WorldSBK Race 2 Results
1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +2.041s
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +7.005s
4. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +12.452s
5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +15.076s
6. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +15.285s
Championship Standings
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 87 points
2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 75 points
3. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 75 points
WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race Results
1.Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) +0.075s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.260s
Manzi wins shortened SSP race
A red flag following a Piotr Biesiekirski (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) crash saw Race 2 shortened to just six laps for the WorldSSP field. Starting from pole position Adrian Huertas was in contention for the victory but the Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team rider suffered a late race crash while battling for the lead.
Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) emerged victorious with the Italian taking the sixth victory of his career. The win was the rider’s first of the season as he narrowly defeated Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) to the line. The result continued Schroetter’s perfect podium record for the season but the German is still awaiting his first victory.
On the podium for the first time since Estoril 2020, Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) was happy to round out the podium spots. Yari Montella continues to lead the Championship with the Barni Spark Racing Team rider finishing fourth to now hold an 11 point advantage.
WorldSSP Race 2 Results
1.Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing)
2. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.086s
3. Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.201s
4. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.681s
5. Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +0.714s
6. Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +1.279s
Championship Standings
1. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 76 points
2. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) 72 points
3. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) 65 points
First victory for Iglesias, first podium for KOVE
After a penalty dropped him to 13th position yesterday Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM-Kawasaki) was officially confirmed as a race winner in the WorldSSP300 class. The Spaniard, in his 44th start, led across the line for the last three laps but critically held off the pack to claim the race victory.
A last corner reshuffle saw Julio Garcia Gonzalez (KOVE Racing Team) come through for second position and the first ever World Championship podium for the Chinese manufacturer. Bruno Ieraci (Team ProDina Kawasaki) finished third.
WorldSSP300 Race 2 Results
1. Inigo Iglesias Bravo (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki)
2. Julio Garcia Gonzalez (KOVE Racing Team) +0.064s
3. Bruno Ieraci (Team ProDina Kawasaki) +0.116s
4. Daniel Mogeda (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kawasaki) +0.143s
5. Petr Svoboda (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) +0.264s
6. Galang Hendra Pratama (ProGP NitiRacing) +0.514s
Julio Garcia Gonzalez (KOVE Racing Team) 1'54.997
Championship Standings
1. Aldi Satya Mahendra (Team BrCorse) 29 points
2. Iñngo Iglesias Bravo (Fusport-RT Motorsports by SKM-Kawasaki) 28 points
3. Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-PALIGO Racing) 25 points
Dorna WorldSBK