Sunday
WorldSBK Race Two
A red flag stoppage after a two-rider crash saw Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) just ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) to take his 16th and final race win of his championship-winning season.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) had passed Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in the race and in doing so he a podium finish at the red flag, which brought out the chequered flag on the year.
It was an unfortunate end to the final WorldSBK race of 2022 as this was Eugene Laverty’s farewell race to the category and he was one of the riders who fell in the red flag incident, suffering a pelvic injury. He was transported to hospital by helicopter for further assessments.
Behind the top four riders, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) beat Alex Lowes to overall fifth place in the championship by two points after finishing fifth in the race.
Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) accidentally found a new set-up possibility in the wet and dry race one on Saturday and used it in the shortened final race to finish sixth.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had another disappointing PI race but finished fourth in the championship overall.
Philipp Öttl (Team GoEleven Ducati), super-sub Tetsuta Nagashima (HRC Honda) and finally Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW)
Completed the top ten in the last race of 2022.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) and Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) crashed out for the race.
In the final Championship points Bautista ended his year with a walloping 601, Razgatlioglu 529, Rea 502, Rinaldi 293, Locatelli 274 and Lowes 272. Top Independent rider of 2022, Axel Bassani (Motocorsa Ducati) was seventh overall, with 244 ‘real’ championship points.
2022 Australian WorldSBK Results—Race Two
| 1 | Alvaro Bautista | (Duc) | |
| 2 | Jonathan Rea | (Kaw) | + 0.357s |
| 3 | Alex Lowes | (Kaw) | |
| 4 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | (Yam) | |
| 5 | Andrea Locatelli | (Yam) |
WorldSSP Race Two
Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) won the busy final WorldSSP race of his record breaking championship season with his 17th win, after a tussle until half way through with eventual second place rider Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Ducati) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha).
The top three were lightly spread out across the line, with a big gap back to Nicolo Bulega (Aruba Racing Ducati) in fourth place and Race One winner Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) right behind.
Montella took a long lap penalty for a clash with his team-mate Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), who would end up no-scoring.
Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had an eventually lonely race to sixth, with lone MV finisher, Marcel Schoetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) seventh.
Local rider Oliver Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) won his personal four rider battle to end his season in the points, albeit over 20 seconds down on the fastest rider Aegerter.
Andy Verdoia (GMT94 Yamaha) was ninth, Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Yamaha) tenth and retiring WorldSSP legend Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) 11th – finally having a celebration out on track with his WorldSSP peers, Loris Baz and other people close to him in the paddock.
In the final championship points Aegerter has a 498 points, Baldassarri 388, Öncu has 264, Bulega 242 and Caricasulo 222.
Aegerter has now won two WorldSSP championships in succession, and a total of 27 races.
2022 Australian WorldSSP Results—Race Two
| 1 | Dominique Aegerter | (Yam) | ||
| 2 | Federico Caricasulo | (Duc) | + 1.888s | |
| 3 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | (Yam) | + 2.637s | |
| 4 | Nicolo Bulega | (Duc) | + 7.28 | |
| 5 | Yari Montella | (Kaw) | + 7.597s |
WorldSBK Superpole Race
With most of the top riders on a choice of front wet and rear intermediate tyres the one big name who veered away from the starting grid orthodoxy was new world champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), who went for slicks front and rear.
On a wet track, in what had already been declared a wet race, the horribly heavy rains had stopped so the question was how long it would take to dry out?
The final answer was not long, and too soon for some.
Up front the trio of Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team), Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) had all gone for front wets and rear inters.
They all ran away out front but as the track dried Bautista would start coming at them with seconds per lap to spare, eventually passing and winning by 3.285 seconds from Razgatlioglu. Rea was just 0.043 seconds behind Toprak.
Lowes was fourth, and the second factory Yamaha of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) fifth. Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was sixth, Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) seventh and Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) eighth.
Xavi Fores (Barni Spark Racing Ducati) placed ninth and Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) tenth.
In finishing second in the Superpole race Toprak Razgatlioglu guaranteed he would finish second in the championship, and Rea third.
2022 Australian WorldSBK Results—Superpole Race
| 1 | Alvaro Bautista | (Duc) | |
| 2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | (Yam) | + 3.285s |
| 3 | Jonathan Rea | (Kaw) | + 3.328s |
| 4 | Alex Lowes | (Kaw) | + 6.670s |
| 5 | Andrea Locatelli | (Yam) | + 9.238s |
Saturday
WorldSBK Race One
An opening PI WorldSBK race which started out in wet conditions but was fully dry before the end saw Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) break his 24-race-winning drought, heading up second-placed rider Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) by over six seconds after 22 complicated laps.
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) who was one of several race leaders as riders opted to enter the pits for slick tires at different points after the sun started to appear, was third, but over 15 seconds from Rea.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) chased Lowes hard but had to settle for fourth place, with new champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fifth.
Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) was sixth, Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) seventh, and top Honda rider was Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) eighth.
Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) ended up top BMW rider in ninth, albeit 57 seconds behind Rea.
Friday practice sensation Tetsuta Nagashima (HRC Honda) rounded out the top ten in what was an ever-changing race, with four riders fighting for the ‘straight’ win in the early wet laps until the drying track changed the fortunes of everyone.
2022 Australian WorldSBK Results—Race One
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | (Kaw) | |
| 2 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | (Yam) | + 6.247s |
| 3 | Alex Lowes | (Kaw) | + 15.435s |
| 4 | Andrea Locatelli | (Yam) | + 19.369s |
| 5 | Alvaro Bautista | (Duc) | + 19.369s |
WorldSSP Race One
Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Ducati) had a tense and finally dramatic fight for the first race honors at the final round of the WorldSSP championship, with Montella guaranteeing his win after Caricasulo crashed close to the end of the race.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba Racing Ducati) was second, closing in at times but finishing 2.7 seconds from Montella.
Third was Montella’s team-mate, Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), who is still waiting for his first WorldSSP race win.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) scooped up fourth place, over seven seconds behind Montella.
New World Champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was fifth, and Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) sixth.
Caricasulo got back on to finish seventh, one place up on Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo Racing By Puccetti Kawasaki) who was eighth – recording his best WorldSSP result to date. Simon Jespersen (Kallio Racing Yamaha) placed ninth and 33 seconds behind the race win Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) rounded out the top ten.
2022 Australian WorldSSP Results—Race One
| 1 | Yari Montella | (Kaw) | |
| 2 | Nicolo Bulega | (Duc) | + 2.706s |
| 3 | Can Oncu | (Kaw) | + 5.889s |
| 4 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | (Yam) | + 7.223s |
| 5 | Dominique Aegerter | (Yam) | + 12.212s |
WorldSBK Superpole
New WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) became the only rider to dip into the 1:29 lap times so far as he secured the Superpole win on Saturday at Phillip Island. It was only his second Superpole success this year.
Given the heavy tire wear characteristics of Phillip Island, there were no SCQ or SCX tires at this round, so everyone used softer SC0 race options, getting several attempts in as a result.
Finally 0.211 seconds behind, after pushing hard and swapping the leading time with Bautista, was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team). Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was third, only just behind his team-mate.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) slotted into fourth place in a dry session after morning rains had struck.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was fifth and Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha) was sixth.
Privateer Philipp Öttl (Team GoEleven Ducati) was a strong seventh fastest.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was eighth, with two Honda riders Xavi Vierge (HRC Honda) and stand in-rider Tetsuta Nagashima (HRC Honda), ninth and tenth fastest respectively.
2022 Australian WorldSBK Results—Superpole
| 1 | Alvaro Bautista | (Duc) | 1:29.815s |
| 2 | Jonathan Rea | (Kaw) | + 0.211s |
| 3 | Alex Lowes | (Kaw) | + 0.238s |
| 4 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | (Yam) | + 0.428s |
| 5 | Andrea Locatelli | (Yam) | + 0.765s |
Friday
WorldSBK
Jonathan Rea (KRT) headed both Free Practice sessions at Phillip Island on Friday to lead the 22-rider field into the final race weekend of 2022.
The second Friday Free Practice session was halted for a time after the occasional problem of geese arriving too close to the racing surface reared its elegantly curved head, putting everyone back into pitlane for a time.
When the action restarted Rea left it until near the end of the final session to post his 1’31.127, which left him 0.105 seconds ahead of new World Champion, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team) pushed on to be third fastest rider, one place up on Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team). The outgoing World Champion relied on his morning time for his fourth place overall pace.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team) placed fifth in dry and sunny conditions, but the sensation of the opening day was Tetsuta Nagashima (HRC Honda) who was a sensational sixth in his first ever WorldSBK Race weekend. The former Moto2 race winner was riding in Australia to replace the injured Iker Lecuona.
Philipp Öttl (Team GoEleven Ducati) was not only declared fit to ride after his crash in Indonesia but he was seventh on day one in Australia, ahead of Garrett Gerloff (GRT Yamaha), Scott Redding (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).
Axel Bassani (MotoCorsa Racing Ducati) was 11th and Michael van der Mark (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 12th.
2022 Australian WorldSBK Results—Friday
| 1 | Jonathan Rea | (Kaw) | 1:31.127s |
| 2 | Alvaro Bautista | (Duc) | + 0.105s |
| 3 | Alex Lowes | (Kaw) | + 0.289s |
| 4 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | (Yam) | + 0.477s |
| 5 | Andrea Locatelli | (Yam) | + 0.594s |
WorldSSP
Nicolo Beluga (Aruba Racing Ducati) was the fastest rider on day one at the Phillip Island WorldSSP round, thanks to a best lap of 1’34.027 set in FP2. He just displaced FP1 leader Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Ducati) to second place in the combined times, with recently crowned new champion Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) third overall.
Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) pushed all the way to the end of FP2 his attempt to overhaul the leading riders, in his first WorldSSP visit to Phillip Island, but was fourth fastest.
Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph Street Triple RS) continued to make progress on the three-cylinder Triumph, going fifth fastest, with Can Öncü (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) and his Kawasaki one place behind in sixth.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha) was seventh, Raffaele De Rosa (Ducati Orelac Racing VerdNatura) eighth. Indonesian race winner Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) was ninth and Oliver Bayliss (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) tenth.
Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR) was 13th overall on his first day in his new class, as a one event rider at the end of the season.
2022 Australian WorldSSP Results—Friday
| 1 | Nicolo Bulega | (Duc) | 1:34.027s |
| 2 | Federico Caricasulo | (Duc) | + 0.040s |
| 3 | Dominique Aegerter | (Yam) | + 0.431s |
| 4 | Yari Montella | (Kaw) | + 0.505s |
| 5 | Stefano Manzi | (Tri) | + 0.590s |
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