Bautista rules Indonesia chaos
World champion makes it five from six as bedlam descends on Lombok
Indonesia was nothing short of crazy as the Mandalika circuit hosted one of the most action-packed weekends in World Superbike history. Despite a hazardously dusty track, countless crashes and injuries for several riders, Alvaro Bautista maintained his championship lead, now with five wins from the first six races of the 2023 season.
If Bautista can win in Indonesia like he won in Australia a week earlier, the rest of the field have good reason to be worried. Sure enough, the Ducati man triumphed in both long races on the island of Lombok despite having to fight from tenth on the grid in Race 2 following a Sprint Race crash when caught out behind wayward Jonathan Rea.
There were two red flags on Sunday, bringing no less than five race starts for the riders across the weekend. In Race 2 alone, five different riders led a melodramatic affair. But there is no doubt that the upcoming tests this month in Aragon and Barcelona will be crucial for Ducati’s rivals.
Ducati are smart. Very smart. Not only with their management of the Aruba factory squad but with their policy of looking after all of their customer teams as well, which in turn helps with development across the board. The start of the campaign has been very much a continuation of the last, not least as Phillip Island testing was limited while the previous tests in Jerez and Portimao were staged in chilly conditions. Not only that, but Bautista has also looked sublime, stating: “I’m mentally strong and feel we can bounce back from any scenario. However, Europe will be different on more normal tracks. It’s going to get even more competitive.”
Once again, the circuit – hardly used during the year – provided no more grip than an ice rink once riders strayed off the very narrow racing line, making it extremely dangerous and almost guaranteeing crashes. It’s also very abrasive as Michael Ruben Rinaldi found out to his cost, having set the pace all across Friday only to leave with not a single podium to his name. On Saturday he crashed at Turn 1 while on Sunday he made a last lap error and went off whilst in second place.
“I’m upset,” admitted Rinaldi, who is fifth overall and behind Independent Ducati man Axel Bassani. “I had no new tyres for the restart and ran out of front grip. After being 2.5 seconds ahead at the red flag, to not even get a podium is very disappointing. I will get through this tough time. I will not quit; if you quit, you are done. I just need to work harder because I’m stronger than in 2022. My time will come.”
Last year, the Far East had been ruled by Yamaha. Although Toprak Razgatlioglu opened his account by claiming Sunday’s Sprint Race and scored more points than anybody, with second in both long races, it is very clear Ducati have moved ahead. “Ducati are impossible to beat at the moment, but the championship is very long and I’m focused on winning it,” said the relaxed but pragmatic Turk.
Razgatlioglu’s Pata Yamaha team-mate, Andrea Locatelli, has achieved three podiums from six races this year and is the only rider to have made it to a top five result in all of them.
At the end of a drama-filled weekend on which it was difficult to know where to look next, the 2020 World Supersport Champion expressed similar safety concerns to fellow countryman Danilo Petrucci. “It’s important to have good pace and a good position but also to build a good race,” Locatelli stated. “Everybody should use their head across those first few laps.” BMW’s Scott Redding added: “It was chaos. I don’t know what got into people. I saw some crazy stuff today.”
‘Europe will be different, on normal tracks’