Bautista wins at Misano, Razgatlioglu retires

It was Razgatlioglu who grabbed the holeshot from second on the grid when the 21 lap race got underway at the Misano World Circuit, the Yamaha rider sprinting ahead of polesitter Bautista on the run down to Turn 1.

But Razgatlioglu’s stint at the front turned out to be short-lived, with Rea snatching the lead at the end of Turn 1 on his Kawasaki having already passed the Ducati of Bautista.

Bautista also found a way past Razgatlioglu soon after and set upon chasing Rea, the two then engaging in a close duel for victory.

Finally, on lap 13 he was able to make the decisive pass for the lead, overtaking Rea’s Kawasaki with a bold move on the fast Turn 13 right-hander.

Once out in front, Bautista was able to quickly pull away from the chasing pack, taking the chequered flag with a victory margin of over five seconds.

It was Bautista’s fifth victory of the 2022 season from 10 attempts and helps him move further clear of Rea in the title fight, the gap between the two now standing at 22 points.

Razgatlioglu’s chances of defending his title took a big hit as his Yamaha crawled to a halt with seven laps to go while he was running third and within striking distance of the leading duo.

The Turkish rider’s second DNF of the season promoted Michael Ruben Rinaldi to the final spot on the podium, the home favourite finishing eight seconds off Ducati teammate Bautista in third.

Axel Bassani put on an impressive charge from the lower reaches of the top 10 to finish as the top independent rider in fourth on the Motocorsa Ducati, beating the factory Kawasaki of Alex Lowes.

Andrea Locatelli was sixth on the works Yamaha, while Honda rider Xavi Vierge fended off GRT Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff to take seventh.

The top 10 was rounded off by Vierge’s teammate Iker Lecuona and Scott Redding, the latter having an uneventful race on the factory BMW as he finished over 25s down on Bautista, the rider who replaced him at Ducati over the winter.

Misano WSBK – Race 1 results: