New WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista claims the final pole position of the season after beating Jonathan Rea in qualifying at Phillip Island:
Ducati rider Bautista, who wrapped up his first WSBK title with a round to spare last time out in Indonesia, was the only rider to break the 90-second barrier at the Australian track as he topped the timesheets on a 1m29.815s.
After rain hit the circuit ahead of Saturday morning's third practice session, the track had dried out in time for the 15-minute Superpole session, with the times in the opening runs immediately bettering those set on Friday. The six-time champion briefly took over at the top as he began his second run with a 1m30.026s, but that was soon beaten by Bautista's best lap, and the arrival of spots of rain in the closing minutes of the session appeared to hamper Rea's efforts to go even faster.
Toprak Razgatlioglu never looked like a genuine pole threat on the Yamaha and had to settle for fourth place, four tenths off the pace, ahead of teammate Andrea Locatelli and the satellite GRT bike of Garrett Gerloff.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
World Superbike: Jonathan Rea tops Phillip Island practiceJonathan Rea led the way for Kawasaki in Friday practice for the World Superbike Championship finale at Phillip Island, as the series returned to Australia for the first time in three years.
Read more »
World Cup of Beers: Meet the England fan who's bought lager from all 32 nationsEngland fans will have to fork out £12 for a pint of beer in Qatar but one supporter has splashed out £150 to get a taste of every nation. Gus Hully has been busy collecting lager and ale from arou…
Read more »
The Brazil Globetrotters are the perfect fit for this hot and heavy World CupBrazil have become international football's biggest business over the last ten years; they are made to win this curious World Cup. twoht says it is a perfect fit but that record v Europe is troubling.
Read more »
World Cup: England & Gareth Southgate would both benefit from an amicable split'Some might argue that this is just 'The England Way', but it doesn't have to be like this.' twoht on Southgate, England and what can be an amicable split...
Read more »
talkSPORT predicted England XI for Qatar World Cup in 2017 - here's how it wentThe World Cup is just days away and has been a long-time coming. Qatar were awarded the tournament back in 2010 and it is the first to be held in the Middle East, and during the winter rather than …
Read more »