Image: Supplied.

The Aragon round of the 2023 Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) saw Aruba.it Racing Ducati riders Michael Rinaldi and Alvaro Bautista split wins, while teammate Nicolo Bulega swept WorldSSP as MTM Kawasaki pair Loris Veneman and Jeffrey Buis stood tall in WorldSSP300.

Rinaldi took an important victory in race one in the 10th round of the season, leading Pata Yamaha Prometeon’s Toprak Razgatlioglu by 1.253s at the checkers.

A further 1.5s back in third was Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jonathan Rea, as Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha Prometeon) and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) completed the top five. Bautista scored zero for the outing after crashing out of the lead between turns eight and nine.

The defending champion rebounded to take victory in the superpole race ahead of Rea and Razgatlioglu, the top three separated by less than half a second at the conclusion of the 10-lap bout.

Bautista again stood tall in race two, four seconds clear of Razgatlioglu who held a further three-second lead in front of Rinaldi. Rea and Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Racing) rounded out the top five, while it was heartbreak for Locatelli who suffered a technical issue while in podium contention. Meanwhile, Australia’s Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha) notched a 7-10-9 scorecard across the weekend.

Image: Supplied.

There was no stopping Bulega in WorldSSP, the Italian bound for a factory Ducati seat in WorldSBK next year showing exactly why he leads the standings with another two race wins.

Bulega won the opening outing by 3.581s ahead of Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), with Barni Spark Racing’s Yari Montella finishing third. Title challenger Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) concluded the bout in 11th.

When the red flags brought a premature end to race two after a heavy fall from Niki Tuuli (PTR Triumph), it was again Bulega taking the top spot honours, leading Manzi and Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) in third.

Of Australians competing in WorldSSP at Aragon, Tom Edwards (Yart Yamaha) notched 18-14 results, while Luke Power (Motozoo MIE Air Racing) recorded a 22-21 scorecard.

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Racing was close as usual in the WorldSSP300 class, with Veneman leading Buis and Daniel Mogeda in the opening encounter, the top three separated by less than a tenth at the checkers.

It was Buis who emerged on top in race two, leading Matteo Vannucci and Marco Gaggi across the line, the podium place getters again separated by less than 0.100s at the conclusion of the bout.

Next up, the WorldSBK paddock moves to Portimao, Portugal between 29 September and 1 October for the 11th round of the 2023 season.

Detailed results