The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship had more history written at the TT Circuit Assen during the Pirelli Dutch Round as Italian manufacturer Ducati claimed their 400^th victory in WorldSBK history after Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed a hat-trick in the Netherlands. Ducati become the first manufacturer to reach this milestone as Bautista also racked up his 40^th win in WorldSBK after withstanding early pressure in the race.

HISTORY MADE: Bautista records a milestone for Ducati

The battle for the lead involved Bautista, Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in the early stages of the race with all three taking their chance to lead throughout the race. Razgatlioglu made his move for the lead on Lap 3 but Bautista responded quickly, before Rea made his move on Lap 5 at the same Turn 8. Bautista was able to respond almost immediately to re-claim the lead and Rea’s race would come to an end on the following lap. He lost the front of his Kawasaki machine at Turn 9 on Lap 6 which put him out of the race.

It meant the fight for victory became between Bautista and Razgatlioglu, but the reigning Champion was able to pull out a gap over Razgatlioglu as he claimed his 40^th WorldSBK win and Ducati’s 400^th win in WorldSBK. Razgatlioglu was unchallenged as he took second place in Race 2 to continue his run of podium finishes, now at six races. He was directly ahead of teammate Andrea Locatelli in third, matching his podium tally from 2021 and doubling his count from 2022. Locatelli had to fend off a challenge from Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) who took fifth place.

Not only did Bautista’s victory give Ducati their 400^th WorldSBK victory, it was also their 700^th race on the podium to hit two milestones in one race. As it was Bautista’s 40^th win, all on Ducati, he has exactly 10% of Ducati’s WorldSBK victories. Razgatlioglu now has 90 podiums to his name while teammate Locatelli has ten, putting him level with Simon Crafar and Max Neukirchner while equalling his best podium tally to date.

LATE DRAMA: last-lap penalty switches fourth place…

Bassani had been running in the lead group during the first half of the race and was promoted to third following Rea’s crash but Locatelli made his way past his compatriot on Lap 8 at Turn 5 with a similar move to the one he made on Saturday against Bassani. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) backed up his sixth-place finish in Race 1 with fourth in Race 2. At the final chicane, the pair made contact with Bassani taking to the green and Aegerter staying on track. The incident was looked at and Bassani, who crossed the line in fourth, was demoted one place due to a track limits infringement on the final lap; Aegerter was therefore classified in fourth place, his best WorldSBK finish, with Bassani in fifth. It was yet another strong result for GRT Yamaha as Aegerter’s teammate, Remy Gardner, took sixth place after fighting his way through the field.

LEAVING ASSEN IN THE TOP TEN: a strong comeback

Scott Redding (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) claimed seventh spot after a hard-fought race for the British rider, finishing just over a second behind Gardner but also withstanding a late charge from rookie Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team). Petrucci finished in eighth place but was only 0.075s behind Redding at the end of the 21-lap race as he charged through the field. Ninth belonged to Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) after a dramatic race for the Brit. On the sighting lap, Lowes went into the gravel and he was able to bring his bike back to the pits for the team to work on. He was able to start the race from the back of the grid, rather than fourth place where he had been scheduled to, but was able to slice his way through the field to ninth place. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took tenth place to end a difficult weekend in the top ten.

TAKING HOME POINTS: inside the top 15

German rider Philipp Oettl (Team GoEleven) took 11^th place, just over a second behind Rinaldi, while he had to fend off Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) who finished in 12^th place and only four tenths behind Oettl. Lorenzo Baldassarri (GMT94 Yamaha) took 13^th place ahead of Hafizh Syahrin (PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team) was 14^th ahead of Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing); Sykes claiming his first point since returning to WorldSBK for the 2023 campaign.

Oliver Konig (Orelac Racing MOVISIO) was 16^th and almost 10 seconds down on the points-paying positions and he had to fend off Eric Granado (PETRONAS MIE Racing HONDA Team) in 17^th place. Isaac Vinales (TPR by Vinales Racing), making his first start of the 2023 campaign, was 18^th after a late fight with wildcard Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing). Ruiu was just 0.020s behind Vinales at the end of the race.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from Race 2

Three riders crashed in quick succession on Laps 2 and 3 in separate incidents. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) crashed at Turn 9 on Lap 2, Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) crashed at Turn 16 and Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) crashed at Turn 1 on Lao 3. Van der Mark was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash and he was subsequently transported to hospital for further assessments on a suspect left femur fracture. Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) was another who retired from the race when he crashed at Turn 15 on Lap 8, while Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) crashed at Turn 4 on Lap 12; he did re-join the race but brought his bike into the pits and retired.

The top six following WorldSBK Race 2, full results here:

1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +3.915s

3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +7.416s

4. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +9.445s

5. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) +9.500s

6. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +12.279s

Fastest Lap: Alvaro Bautista, Ducati – 1’37.607s

Championship standings

1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 174 points

2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) 118

3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK) +104

4. Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) 77

5. Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 73

6. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 54

Watch more WorldSBK action throughout 2023 using the WorldSBK VideoPass!