Image: Russell Colvin.

A red-flag-shortened race two saw Alvaro Bautista cap off an immensely successful 2022 Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) campaign on top at Phillip Island, as back-to-back Supersport world champion Dominique Aegerter notched a final victory in his 600 stint.

With the final laps approaching, an incident involving Eugene Laverty (Bonovo Action BMW) and Xavi Fores (Barni Spark Racing Team) brought a premature end to the second WorldSBK race, with Bautista narrowly in front of the number 65 at the time of the stoppage.

Rea was able to lead in the earlier stages of the race, and despite being passed by Bautista he was able to maintain constant pressure on the Spaniard in what was shaping up to be a thrilling conclusion to the bout.

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Alex Lowes ended his season on a positive note in P3, as former WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx) and teammate Andrea Locatelli completed the top five.

BMW Motorrad’s Scott Redding was sixth after a strong start to the race, as Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Phillip Ottl (Team Goeleven), Team HRC fill-in Tetsuta Nagashima and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) completed the top 10.

In the 2022 Superbike World Championship standings, Bautista – who was crowned champion in Indonesia – finished the year on 576 points, with last year’s winner Razgatlioglu second on 516 and Rea third with 482.

Image: Russell Colvin.

WorldSBK-bound Aegerter showed exactly why is the back-to-back champion on a 600, taking what was ultimately a 1.8s victory to conclude his stint with Ten Kate Yamaha in WorldSSP.

The final race of the season turned into somewhat of a spread-out encounter, with Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) crossing the line runner-up ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros Yamaha) in third.

Friday pace-sitter Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and yesterday’s winner Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) completed the top five, as Australia’s Oli Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team) concluded his first season in WorldSSP with a charge forwards to P8.

Looking at the 2022 Supersport World Championship standings, it was Baldassarri who secured silver and Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) bronze behind title-winner Aegerter.

Detailed results