WorldSBK Assen Race 2 Results | Bautista benefits big as Razgatlioglu, Rea crash

Alvaro Bautista moved clear at the head of the 2022 WorldSBK Championship standings after securing a clear Race 2 victory at Assen in the wake of key rivals Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jonathan Rea colliding and crashing out.

In a dramatic twist to another pulsating weekend in which the Ducati-Kawasaki-Yamaha trio proved yet again the class of the field, their five-race run of locking out the podium positions came to an abrupt conclusion when Rea and Razgatlioglu skidded out in a bizarre incident on lap six.

Razgatlioglu - having led from turn one - appeared to run deep into the opening right-hander, sending him wide on the kerbs, in turn inviting the close-following Rea to line-up a pass on the run to Turn 2. However, angled for the same racing line from either unsighted side of one another, contact that clipped both to the ground and into the gravel trap.

Though Race Direction will have the final say on whether there was fault to be attributed, it is nonetheless the first time the 2021 WorldSBK title fighters have failed to finish as a result of contact between the pair. 

Their loss was Bautista’s gain, however, with the Spaniard getting the anchors down in avoidance to keep going. Despite slipping to second briefly behind a fortuitous Iker Lecuona, Bautista quickly resumed the lead, proceeding to sprint home the winner by a clear 8.7secs. 

Negating Rea’s two victories earlier in the weekend, Bautista win puts him back into the lead of the standings, 18 points up on the Ulsterman, with Razgatlioglu already 45 points off the top.

Jumping from fifth to first thanks to the drama ahead, Lecuona made the most of his fortune to consolidate a strong podium-position throughout, even if he couldn’t resist the hard charging Andrea Locatelli late on.

The Italian landed his first rostrum of the year to save some grace for Yamaha, Locatelli chased home by ex-MotoGP rider Lecuona, who secured a first podium on his second WorldSBK outing, while his efforts are in turn only a fourth top three finish for Honda since 2020.

In fourth, Alex Lowes bounced back in a fierce fight in the pack to secure a welcome result after issues earlier in the day, while Axel Bassani was impressive as he picked up a top five finish on the Motocorsa Ducati.

Both riders, however, had to work hard against Scott Redding, who lit up the Dutch venue with a fighting ride that suggested he has found a way with the BMW M 1000 RR. Running as high as fourth, he’d eventually settle for a still much improved sixth at the flag.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi was a lonely seventh, ahead of Michael van der Mark, the home hero grinding out a run to eighth on the BMW from Xavi Vierge and Lucas Mahias.

Roberto Tamburini, Christophe Ponsson, the returning Leon Haslam, Luca Bernardi and Leandro Mercado completed the points’ paying results, the latter scoring his and MIE Honda’s first digits of the year.

2022 WorldSBK Championship | Assen, Netherlands | Race 2 RESULTS