Álvaro Bautista secured the Superbike World Championship title yesterday, but he shows no signs of slowing down. On Sunday, he won the Superpole race in Jerez, which was interrupted with a red flag.
Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha) had a strong start, but in turn five, he was overtaken by Alex Lowes (Kawasaki) and lost the lead. Six riders formed the front group in the early stages, and Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) was one of them.
After the good start, Aegerter experienced engine problems with his motorcycle, which spilled oil on the track. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) crashed at turn five and had to go to the medical center, where he was declared fit. The track conditions forced a red flag interruption.
When the race resumed, it was limited to eight more laps with the original starting grid. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha), Aegerter, and Lecuona were allowed to line up despite retiring in the interrupted race. Once again, Aegerter made the holeshot. He lost the lead to Lowes but managed to recover it until Bautista overtook him in the second lap.
In the third lap, Lowes crashed after contact with Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha) and sustained a facial injury, being declared unfit in the medical center.
At the front, Bautista and Aegerter pulled away from the competition and battled for the victory. In the end, the two-time champion crossed the finish line 1.487 seconds ahead of the rookie, who stood on the podium for the first time.
The fight for third place was much closer, with Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki) narrowly beating Razgatlioglu by less than half a second. This was the first time in 2023 that the Turkish rider finished outside the top three, excluding the two retirements. Locatelli completed the top five ahead of Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha).