Alvaro Bautista seals victory in Jerez as Alex Lowes and Jonathan Rea collide on final turn

ByBen Grounds

Updated 08/06/2019 at 13:27 GMT

Alvaro Bautista produced another sublime performance as he recovered from missing out on pole position to claim victory on home soil at Jerez.

Bautista, who started second on the grid, secured a 12th win of 14 races in the season, having missed out on pole by under two tenths of a second earlier on Saturday.

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Spain

Bautista crash allows Rea to close gap as Van der Mark wins Race 2

09/06/2019 at 13:42

Reigning world champion Jonathan Rea set a new track record to secure Superpole, but he was overtaken on the opening lap.

The Aruba.it Ducati racer added another 25 points to his tally as he finished 7.1 seconds ahead of Michael van der Mark in one of the most processional World Superbike racers in recent times.

Yamaha racer Van der Mark makes it 24 career podium finishes, equalling the record of two-time Superbike World Champion Fred Merkel.

An investigation was launched after Alex Lowes was denied third place and championship points following a controversial collision with Rea on the final turn, and fourth-placed Marco Melandri could yet be promoted onto the podium.

Lowes remounted and crossed the line in 16th, and a dejected Rea told Eurosport: "It completely was not my intention. My race was horrible. I can't stop thinking of Alex now, I tried for the cutback but we came together.

I am so, so so sorry that he went down. It really wasn't my intention and I'm really sorry.

"I tried to stop by the garage but it was on deaf ears right now, so hopefully I can go later and apologise as it wasn't my intention to have contact."

Bautista produced a decisive display in memory of his grandfather

Image credit: Eurosport

Having dominated the opening Jerez WorldSBK race, Bautista admitted he sought to take the lead early on in the race, before asserting his authority.

"I was very comfortable in the bike, and I managed the gap to the other riders," he told Eurosport. "It's even more special this victory because it's here in Spain in front of my family, friends and my fans.

"But it is also special because last week my grandfather passed, and he gave me extra energy from the skies. So this victory is for him."

Spain

Alvaro Bautista powers to victory on home soil

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09/06/2019 at 12:02