First, the concern for the scary accident involving Michael Rinaldi, which required the display of the red flag.
Then the joy of the sixteenth seasonal victory for Bautista, who, after finishing second in the Superpole Race, engaged in an exciting duel with Rea (Kawasaki) and Toprak (Yamaha) before pulling away.
These were the emotions for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team on Sunday at Donington, which the reigning World Champion closes with a 93-point lead over Razgatlioglu in the standings.
After the second lap incident with Sykes (BMW) and Baz (BMW), Michael Rinaldi was transported to the Medical Center. The X-rays performed on the Italian rider ruled out serious fractures. Further in-depth checks will be carried out upon his return to Italy.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #1):
“If someone had told me that I would have come back from Donington with 2 victories and a second place, I might have had trouble believing it. That’s why I’m really happy about this weekend. The feeling with the bike was once again fantastic. I don’t look at the standings: I only think about the next race and I can’t wait to be in Imola.”
Michael Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #21):
“It has been a really unlucky weekend where something important always happened in the early laps. Today’s accident was really bad. I only remember finding myself on the ground with a lot of pain in my ankle. Fortunately, the initial analysis ruled out fractures. I wish a speedy recovery to Sykes, who was at the medical center with me.”
- WorldSSP
Pole Position, P1 in Race 1, and P1 in Race 2. This was the perfect weekend for Nicolò Bulega and the Ducati Panigale V2 of the Aruba.it Racing WSSP team. At the end of the sixth round marking the halfway point of the 2023 season, Bulega is in first place in the standings with 247 points, 55 more than Manzi (Yamaha).
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WSSP #11):
“It has been an extraordinary weekend. I felt that I had all the right cards to perform well on this circuit, but I must say that the team did an incredible job by putting me in a position to go really fast. We set new track records, we secured the pole position, and we won two races. It couldn’t have gone any better.