Racing action for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship started in style in the Pirelli Indonesian Round at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit with a fierce battle setting up the remainder of Sunday’s action. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) claimed a hard-fought victory over Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and kept his Championship hopes alive ahead of Race 2 on Sunday.

TAKING THE FRONT ROW FOR RACE 2: the top three in the Superpole Race

Razgatlioglu led from pole position into Turn 1 but, unlike in Race 1 yesterday, was unable to pull a gap in the early stages of the race. He fell behind Rea on Lap 3 when the six-time Champion passed him through Turn 12 to move into the lead with Rea aiming to end his win drought. However, Razgatlioglu responded on Lap 7 at Turn 10, after attempting the move on several occasions, to re-gain the lead. He then held on to take his second victory of the weekend and his 31^st win in WorldSBK. Rea’s second place was his 241^st in WorldSBK and Kawasaki’s 399^th race on the podium. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) ended his podium drought, which started at the Dutch Round, with third place to take his sixth podium but also Italy’s 400^th in WorldSBK history. The trio will line up from the first row in this afternoon’s Race 2.

BAUTISTA FOURTH: the title in his grasp…

Locatelli had to fend off a charging Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to claim his first podium in 203 days, with the Championship leader in fourth place. He will still be able to claim the title in Race 2 this afternoon if he finishes on the podium or leaves Race 2 with a 62-point margin over Razgatlioglu. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) took fifth place as he was crowned the Best Independent Rider for the 2022 season, and he will start alongside Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) on the second row.

FROM ROW THREE: taking 7^th-9^th in the Superpole Race

Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) will start from the front of row three after he took seventh place, missing out on a second row start by just six tenths of a second. Lowes also had to resist Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to take seventh with Rinaldi in eighth, while the sole Team HRC rider on the grid, Xavi Vierge, will start Race 2 from ninth place as he took ninth in the Superpole Race.

The top nine following WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race, full results here:

1 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK)

2. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.586s

3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) +1.235s

4. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.906s

5. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +4.346s

6. Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +5.025s

7. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +5.686s

8. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +6.142s

9. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) +7.183s

Fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu (Yamaha) – 1’32.163s, new lap record

Watch Race 2 from Indonesia at 13:30 Local Time (GMT+8) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!