All Golden For Bautista
M
ore than 70,000 fans turned
out to see Misano's WorldS-
BK offering, June 2-4, even if
the Mugello MotoGP round is
going to unfold nearby just one
weekend later. The Ducatisti at
Misano included many MotoGP
stars (Bagnaia and Bastianini for
starters), but from the highest
to the lowest, race fans were
treated to a Ducati-fest almost
of the proportions of the World
Ducati Weekend (WDW) that
has been held at Misano several
times in the past.
All the subsequent success
at Misano started early for the
Ducati riders, with Alvaro Bautis
-
ta (Aruba Racing Ducati) on pole
at a record 1:33.017 pace—al-
though not that far ahead of To-
prak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha
Prometeon) in second.
There were three V4R riders
ranged out behind Toprak in the
final Superpole qualifying order:
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba
Racing), Danilo Petrucci (Barni
Spark Racing) and Axel Bassani
(Motocorsa Racing). Four Pani
-
gales in the top-five places told
its own story.
Bautista led from basically
start to finish, with his teammate
Rinaldi running interference on
Razgatlioglu.
Bautista was finally unchal
-
lenged after a tough first period
of racing against Razgatlioglu,
with his own teammate Rinaldi a
clear second ahead of the Turk.
The special "home livery"
yellow-painted Panigales were
stunning to look at and stun
-
ning to behold in terms of pace.
Bautista was over five seconds
up on Rinaldi; Rinaldi 3.7 sec-
onds up on Razgatlioglu over the
20-lap race, not the expected 21
after an engine blow-up forced
an early end.
Bassani was fourth after
Petrucci crashed hard, losing
out on a strong fourth position.
WIND
IN THE
P32
Alvaro Bautista
headed a Ducati-
dominated weekend
at Misano.
PHOTOS:
GOLD & GOOSE
