WSBK 2024 Phillip Island Race 2: Alex Lowes does a double in chaotic race two!
Alex Lowes does the Sunday double to take the championship lead in a chaotic, shortened Race two after the red flag.
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Shehryar Bin Shahid 28th February 2024
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The World Superbike race was off to a late start due to track condition concerns caused by an oil spillage on turn two. But after the cleanup work from the marshals, the race went underway an hour late, only to end up with a red flag due to Jonathan Rea’s horrible crash in turn 11 on lap 3, which resulted in the Northern Irishmen being taken to the medical center.
Fortunately, the six-times world champion was later seen going back to his box, but this concluded, what could only be described as a painful debut with Yamaha.
Toprak Razgatlioglu was also one of the victims of race 2 before the red flag, as his BMW blew up in smoke in turn 11, forcing the Turk unable to partake in the race after the red flag.
After the red flag, the new race 2 was only scheduled for 11 laps.
As the lights went out, it was Alvaro Bautista who got the holeshot from Michael Rubens RInaldi, who slotted in second place ahead of race two poleman Alex Lowes and a fast-starting Andrea Iannone.
Andrea Locatelli, got bogged down to sixth position right behind Sam Lowes’s Marc VDS Ducati, but the Yamaha rider would make quick work of Sam Lowes before setting his sights on Andrea Iannone ahead.
On lap four, ‘Loca’ would close the gap to Andrea Iannone and make light work of him. The Italian was the fastest man on track and was closing down on Alex Lowes in third, almost a second away.
Andrea Iannone seemingly lost all pace on lap four, as he found himself in the clutches of Sam Lowes and Danilo Petrucci just moments after being dispatched by Locatelli. This would be the battle for fifth
On lap six, Alex Lowes would get past Michael Rubens RInaldi for second place, as he would set his eyes on the victory ahead with Bautista unable to pull away. Petrucci would also make his move on Iannone at Doohan corner on the same lap for fifth place.
Rinaldi then started suffering huge tyre problems, which would see him dropping down the field, allowing Locatelli, Petrucci, and Iannone into third, fourth and fifth respectively.
Gong into the last lap, it was Bautista who led from Alex Lowes and Andrea Locatelli, who closed in on the top two and was looking menacing with the pace advantage he had at the moment, but a reckless dive down the inside of Alex Lowes on Miller corner would see him highside out of the race.
With no distractions from behind, Alex Lowes focused on Bautista and would make one of the boldest moves around the outside of Bautista at Lukey Heights! The Brit would hold on to the lead to win by 0.048 seconds at the finish line.
After Locatelli’s crash, Petrucci inherited third place, with Andrea Iannone slotting behind in fourth.
Nicolo Bulega, who at one point was languishing down in thirteenth due to a bad start, was able to claw back into contention for the podium, but he would finish the race in P5.
Michael Rubens Rinaldi and Sam Lowes, who suffered massive tyre troubles, were able to salvage seventh and eighth respectively, with Garet Gerloff, Dominique Aegerter, and Michael van der Mark rounding up the top ten.
Position | Rider | Nationality | Teams | Time | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alex Lowes | GBR | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | 11 Laps | 25 |
2 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Aruba.It Racing Ducati | 0.048 | 20 |
3 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | Barni Spark Racing Team | 1.178 | 16 |
4 | Andrea Iannone | ITA | GoEleven Ducati | 1.275 | 13 |
5 | Nicolo Bulega | ITA | Aruba.It Racing Ducati | 2.346 | 11 |
6 | Michael Ruben Rinaldi | ITA | Motocorsa Ducati | 2.913 | 10 |
7 | Sam Lowes | GBR | Marc VDS Ducati | 3.48 | 9 |
8 | Garrett Gerloff | USA | Bonovo Action BMW | 4.119 | 8 |
9 | Dominique Aegerter | SWI | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | 5.152 | 7 |
10 | Michael Van Der Mark | NED | ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | 5.159 | 6 |
11 | Axel Bassani | ITA | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | 5.183 | 5 |
12 | Remy Gardner | AUS | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | 7.652 | 4 |
13 | Xavi Vierge | SPA | Team HRC WorldSBK | 9.082 | 3 |
14 | Philipp Oettl | GER | GMT94 Yamaha | 10.727 | 2 |
15 | Bradley Ray | GBR | Yamah MotoRacing WorldSBK Team | 11.806 | 1 |
16 | Tito Rabat | SPA | Puccetti Kawasaki | 17.416 | 0 |
17 | Scott Redding | GBR | Bonovo Action BMW | 12.815 | 0 |
18 | Tarran Mackenzie | ITA | Ducati Panigale V4 S | 25.481 | 0 |
19 | Adam Norrodin | ITA | MIE Petronas Honda | 32.107 | 0 |
20 | Andrea Locatelli | ITA | Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK | RET | 0 |
21 | Jonathan Rea | GBR | Pata Yamaha Prometeon WorldSBK | RET | 0 |
22 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | ROKIT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | RET | 0 |