With a 39-point advantage over Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK), Alvaro Bautista (ARUBA.IT Racing – Ducati) had a comfortable margin ahead of Race 2 in WorldSBK, combined with a pole position start. The 34-year-old Spaniard looked set for another win but, for a second round, Bautista crashed out of the lead at the start of Lap 2 at Turn 4. This made for an incredible battle at the front as the championship catapulted into life in Italy.
With the race underway, Bautista took the holeshot into Turn 1 as the pack filtered through as neat as possible. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) blasted through the order and was into third by Turn 1, challenging Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) into Turn 4. At Turn 14, Jonathan Rea sliced under the Turkish rider for third place.
Then, drama at Turn 4 on Lap 2 as Alvaro Bautista made another error, crashing out of the lead as the front end gave way. The Spaniard crashed out, leaving Leon Haslam in the lead ahead of teammate Rea, whilst Razgatlioglu was third ahead of Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) and Alex Lowes (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team). Bautista re-joined but was at the back of the field.
With 18 laps to go, it was Razgatlioglu who put a move on Rea at Turn 4, before leading at Turn 1 a lap later, ahead of Leon Haslam. At Turn 14 on the same lap, Rea lunged ahead of Haslam, as the five-time WorldSBK race winner began to fade away. The number 91 then suffered a collision with Marco Melandri as the Italian tried an audacious pass into Turn 2. Both stayed upright but it allowed Razgatlioglu and Rea to break away.
It was another race to forget for Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK), from a weekend that looked to show so much promise after Saturday. The German crashed once more but re-joined the race.
With 12 laps left to go, the race was far from decided, with two separate battles: Razgatlioglu defended at the front from Jonathan Rea, whilst Leon Haslam held on to third ahead of Marco Melandri, as Alex Lowes began to claw time back on the battling duo ahead of him. Meanwhile, Michael Ruben Rinaldi (BARNI Racing Team) was lapping half-a-second a lap quicker than those ahead of him.
Three laps to go and it was another disaster for the GRT Yamaha squad, as Marco Melandri crashed at Turn 8, as grip deteriorated with rising track temperatures. Melandri’s crash promoted Bautista into the points. A lap later, and the battle for the race win had calmed, as Rea made a mistake at Turn 10, momentarily letting Razgatlioglu off the hook.
The final four laps was when Jonathan Rea made his move out front, taking the lead at Turn 1. It was a heart-in-mouth moment for Razgatlioglu at Turn 4 however, as he came within millimetres of hitting the rear of Rea, with his rear wheel in the air. The fight was far from done, as the 22-year-old Turkish rider stayed glued to the rear end of Rea.
The final lap beckoned, and it was going to be a head-to-head between the young pretender and the four-time WorldSBK Champion. Razgatlioglu tried at Turn 4 but thought better of it, waiting until Turn 8 to make his move. Toprak ran wide, with Rea slicing back ahead and the gloves were really off. As the lap came to a close, Rea defended superbly and despite Razgatlioglu bouncing up the rear wheel of Rea at the final corner, he couldn’t get the better of the reigning-quadruple WorldSBK Champion. Rea took the win ahead of the Turkish star, to take a 75th WorldSBK win and become the highest point-scorer of all time. Third place went to Leon Haslam, ahead of Lowes and Michael Ruben Rinaldi.
Sixth went to Tom Sykes ahead of Chaz Davies, whilst Michele Pirro (BARNI Racing Team), Lorenzo Zanetti (Team Goeleven) and Jordi Torres (Team Pedercini Racing) completed the top ten, in a frantic, feisty end to Race 2.
The championship gap is down to 16 between Bautista and Rea at the top, whilst Toprak Razgatlioglu moved into the top Independent slot in the championship, with his best ride of his WorldSBK career.
P1 - Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
"Toprak did an incredible job! Congratulation to him and his team I had to wait because I had to conserve the tyres and even with that, in the end, I was struggling a bit, and I could see that he was struggling as well on the front, trying to closing the lines. I'd just kept pushing because that 25 points were important but the conditions today compared to the rest of the weekend were difficult. It was very slippery out there, so I tried my best to minimize the risk and take the maximum. This was a really good race, and now I am looking forward to Donington".
P2 - Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing)
"I started from the fourth position, and after a few laps, I found a good feeling with the bike. I try to take the lead, and when I got there I kept pushing all laps, and I saw that the gap was increasing, but on the final lap Jonny caught me, and we had I fought with him! It wasn't easy. He took the lead, I tried again, but in the end, I couldn't get back to first place. I am pleased especially after the big crash I had yesterday, and I want to dedicate this race to my crew! Thanks to them. I am happy because this has been my best race and I will try again in Donington!"
P3 - Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
"We definitely made a good step, but I felt we were struggling a bit in the race. I had a good battle with Alex Lowes for the third step of the podium so I can't be too unhappy, but I felt I had to manage a few little issues. I think that everybody was in the same position. The temperature is high today. I enjoy the battle! My home race is next so I can't wait for that one".
#RiminiWorldSBK at Misano World Circuit: Race 2
1. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) +0.381
3. Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +5.880
Championship Standings after Race 2, Round 7
1. Alvaro Bautista (ESP) Ducati (330 points)
2. Jonathan Rea (GBR) Kawasaki (314 points)
3. Michael van der Mark (NED) Yamaha (188 points)
WorldSSP: Krummenacher beats Caricasulo after titanic final lap battle
The gloves have come off in WorldSSP, as Randy Krummenacher and Federico Caricasulo finally collide in a thrilling final lap brawl
The Pata Riviera di Rimini Round played host to the seventh WorldSSP race of 2019, a frantic 20-lap encounter which saw the WorldSSP championship pendulum continue to swing and add drama to the title race. Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) took the win ahead teammate Federico Caricasulo, after a thrilling final lap.
Starting from pole position, it was Lucas Mahias who took the lead into Turn 1, whilst Jules Cluzel (GMT94 YAMAHA) surged through but almost tagged his fellow countryman, allowing Federico Caricasulo and Randy Krummenacher to take advantage. With the race settling into a pattern, Mahias had the advantage ahead of the BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team riders, with Jules Cluzel and Raffaele De Rosa (MV AGUSTA Reparto Corse) in fourth and fifth respectively.
Caricasulo and Krummenacher battled at the start of the second lap, with the Swiss rider forcing his way into second at Turn 4. A lap later, the pair were ahead of Lucas Mahias, as the familiar sight of the Swiss and the Italian out front, with Cluzel leading the charge to Mahias for the final podium place.
The lead order changed numerous times over the next few laps, with Isaac Viñales (Kallio Racing) in the leading group until a crash at Turn 1 on Lap 4, whilst Raffaele De Rosa crashed a lap later at Turn 6. Caricasulo took the lead at Turn 10, with Krummenacher second and Mahias holding off Cluzel and Hikari Okubo (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).
Krummenacher took the lead back at Turn 1 at the start of Lap 9, leading for five laps whilst the battle simmered down, and everyone held their own stations, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses. It was a mistake on Lap 14 that allowed his teammate Caricasulo back ahead at Turn 10, with the Italian taking the lead provoking the cheers of the home crowd. Two laps later though, Krummenacher took the lead back, moving Caricasulo out wide at Turn 4.
In the final three laps, the gloves were off and Krummenacher had the advantage from his teammate, whilst 2017 WorldSSP Champion Mahias latched onto the back of the battling Yamaha duo. Behind them, a big gap back to Cluzel and Okubo, with the Frenchman starting to drop the Japanese rider. Completing the top six was wildcard Lorenzo Gabellini (GOMMA Racing), putting in an exceptional ride.
On the final lap, it was a lunge at Turn 1 from Federico Caricasulo that nearly took himself and his teammate out. The Italian barged ahead at Turn 8, pushing his teammate out wide but there was still more to come with half-a-lap to go. A desperate move from Krummenacher at Turn 14 pushed his way through, with Caricasulo cutting back to try and get the drive on the exit of the corner. The two touched on the run to Turn 15, before Krummenacher blocked the inside line at Turn 16, doing enough to secure the win! Mahias charged late on but it was Caricasulo who took second ahead of the Frenchman who completed the podium – his first of the year.
Fourth position went to Jules Cluzel ahead of Hikari Okubo – making it two Puccetti Racing Kawasakis inside the top five. Gabellini took sixth, ahead of Hannes Soomer (MPM WILSport Racedays) who took his joint-best result of his career. Wildcard Kevin Manfredi (Team Rosso e Nero) was eighth, whilst Thomas Gradinger (Kallio Racing) and Massimo Roccoli (Team Rosso Corsa) completed the top ten.
The championship lead is now 22 points for Krummenacher, as he takes the advantage with five races to go in 2019.
P1 - Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
"I really wanted to win and thanks to Federico we but on a great battle today. We really pushed each other to reach our maximum. I thought about winning and in the end, I did it! It is always an amazing feeling to win in front of the family, the fans and our team guests! It was a difficult race, we were sliding all the time but the final lap I really had a lot of fun. We need to work more and try to keep this consistency!"
#RiminiWorldSBK WorldSSP at Misano World Circuit - Race
1. Randy Krummenacher (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team)
2. Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) +0.084
3. Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.161
WorldSSP Championship Standings after Round 7
1. Randy Krummenacher (SUI) Yamaha (160 points)
2. Federico Caricasulo (ITA) Yamaha (138 points)
3. Jules Cluzel (FRA) Yamaha (107 points)