2022 FIM Superbike World Championship
Round 12 – Phillip Island
WorldSBK Superpole
After a wet FP3 earlier in the morning on Saturday, it was almost a fully dry Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit that hosted the final Tissot Superpole session of the 2022 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season.
As the riders hit the circuit, all were on slick tyres as the track conditions improved. Initial times weren’t far from Friday’s completely dry running, although Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) did set a respectable 1’31.712, before it was Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who completed his first lap to go top with a 1’30.609s.
Newly-crowned World Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was straight on the pace too and on his second lap, set a 1m39.304, extremely impressive considering the damp patches which were still prominent not far from the racing line. At the end of the first run, it was Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who took over second from his team-mate, whilst German rookie Philipp Oettl (Team Goeleven) was an impressive fifth.
With second and final runs getting underway within the last six minutes, the field set their sights on getting an improved time, whilst those in the pole battle aimed to set the first sub-90-second lap of the weekend. Out of kilter with the rest of the field, Garrett Gerloff (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) stayed out for the majority of the session and with less than five minutes to go, took sixth spot. Behind him, a rather ragged-looking Loris Baz (Bonovo Action BMW) improved his time for 12th, whilst the main bunch, led by Jonathan Rea and debutant Tetsuta Nagashima (Team HRC), made their way across the line to start their final pole attack.
With two minutes remaining, Rea went top, but Bautista then bolted in a 1’29.815s to take provisional pole. There was a disaster for Nagashima who crashed at Miller Corner, the latest crasher at Turn 4. He was up and okay but that did bring out the yellow flags, meaning lap times would be cancelled.
The chequered flag came out and it was Bautista who held onto his pole time as spots of rain in the third sector seemed to be costing time to his opponents. Jonathan Rea held on to second place and will be keen to strike at the start of the race, whilst Alex Lowes took third.
Going into his final races with the #1 plate, Razgatlioglu was able to take fourth but never truly looked like a pole threat, whilst team-mate Andrea Locatelli (Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK) consolidated Yamaha’s top five pace with fifth and will start from the middle of the second row. It’s a Yamaha lock-out on the second row as Garrett Gerloff’s different strategy paid off and he held onto his sixth place, as he hopes to end his tenure at Yamaha on a high at the circuit at which his WorldSBK career started at in 2020.
The third row consists of Philipp Oettl, with the German rider impressing on his first showing in the WorldSBK class and taking his best Superpole result of his rookie 2022 campaign.
Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had a quiet session and could only manage eighth, the third Ducati inside the top ten, whilst Team HRC’s Xavi Vierge took ninth place and a third top ten Superpole result on the bounce.
WorldSBK Superpole Results
Pos | Â Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
1 | A. Bautista | Ducati Panigale V4R | 1m29.815 | 322,4 |
2 | J. Rea | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +0.211 | 316,7 |
3 | A. Lowes | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +0.238 | 317,6 |
4 | T. Razgatlioglu | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.428 | 321,4 |
5 | A. Locatelli | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.765 | 319,5 |
6 | G. Gerloff | Yamaha YZF R1 | +0.912 | 314,0 |
7 | P. Oettl | Ducati Panigale V4R | +1.148 | 320,5 |
8 | M. Rinaldi | Ducati Panigale V4R | +1.291 | 322,4 |
9 | X. Vierge | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +1.492 | 326,3 |
10 | T. Nagashima | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +1.524 | 322,4 |
11 | L. Mahias | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +1.591 | 314,9 |
12 | Â S. Redding | BMW M1000RR | +1.629 | 321,4 |
13 | E. Laverty | BMW M1000RR | +1.679 | 318,6 |
14 | A. Bassani | Ducati Panigale V4R | +1.798 | 316,7 |
15 | M. Van Der Mark | BMW M1000RR | +1.923 | 317,6 |
16 | X. Fores | Ducati Panigale V4R | +1.952 | 321,4 |
17 | H. Syahrin | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +2.260 | 314,9 |
18 | L Baz | BMW M1000RR | +2.307 | 311,2 |
19 | K. Nozane | Yamaha YZF R1 | +2.455 | 313,0 |
20 | O. Konig | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | +3.094 | 314,0 |
21 | L. Mercado | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | +3.632 | 314,9 |
Not Qualified | ||||
NQ | K. Smith | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 4.830 | 304,2 |
WorldSBK Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
 1 |  Alvaro Bautista |  553 |
 2 |  Toprak Razgatlioglu |  487 |
 3 |  Jonathan Rea |  450 |
 4 |  Michael Ruben Rinaldi |  279 |
 5 |  Andrea Locatelli |  245 |
 6 |  Alex Lowes |  234 |
 7 |  Axel Bassani |  230 |
 8 |  Scott Redding |  190 |
 9 |  Iker Lecuona |  189 |
 10 |  Xavi Vierge |  154 |
 11 |  Garrett Gerloff |  129 |
 12 |  Loris Baz |  112 |
 13 |  Philipp Oettl |  77 |
 14 |  Lucas Mahias |  56 |
 15 |  Michael Van Der Mark |  42 |
 16 |  Eugene Laverty |  36 |
 17 |  Roberto Tamburini |  36 |
 18 |  Luca Bernardi |  35 |
 19 |  Xavi Fores |  29 |
 20 |  Kohta Nozane |  15 |
 21 |  Illia Mykhalchyk |  10 |
 22 |  Christophe Ponsson |  9 |
 23 |  Hafizh Syahrin |  9 |
 24 |  Leon Haslam |  4 |
 25 |  Tarran Mackenzie |  3 |
 26 |  Peter Hickman |  2 |
 27 |  Leandro Mercado |  2 |
 28 |  Oliver Konig |  1 |
 29 |  Jake Gagne |  1 |
WorldSSP Superpole
The track was damp but drying when World Supersport riders hit the track for the 15-minute Tissot Superpole session at Phillip Island on Saturday afternoon.
Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing) took an early gamble with tyre choice that lead him to dominate the first 10 minutes of the Tissot Superpole Session. With 5 minutes left on the clock, the newly crowned World Supersport Champion was lapping over 4 seconds clear from second, leaving only two riders in the field lapping within the qualifying cut-off time of 105%.
The final two minutes of the session saw riders putting in their charge for the final World Supersport Tissot Superpole of the year. Raffaele De Rosa stormed to the top, but this lasted less than a few seconds before our FP1 fastest time setter Frederico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) come out of nowhere to put his Althea Racing Ducati Panigale V2 on pole with a 1:37.161.
In that same final lap, Aruba.it. Racing – Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega crossed the line with an identical lap time to Caricasulo, with a 1:37.161. Caricasulo’s second-fastest lap in the Superpole session was the deciding factor that determined the front row of the grid, with Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) rounding out the top three, marking the Italian’s first-ever front-row start.
Aegerter was a late faller, with a costly mistake coming from the seemingly untouchable World Champion in the Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round Tissot Superpole. Aegerter now finds himself starting 5th on the grid, 0.220 seconds behind Caricasulo and Bulega.
Oli Bayliss did not have the confidence to really push in the somewhat tricky conditions and his 1m38.893 secured him 14th place on the starting grid for this afternoon.
WorldSSP Superpole Results
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
1 | F. Caricasulo | Ducati Panigale V2 | 1m37.161 | 276,2 |
2 | N. Bulega | Ducati Panigale V2 | +0.000 | 280,5 |
3 | Y. Montella | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +0.153 | 275,5 |
4 | D. Aegerter | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.220 | 270,0 |
5 | L. Baldassarri | Yamaha YZF R6 | +0.485 | 271,4 |
6 | M. Schroetter | MV Agusta F3 800 RR | +0.597 | 276,9 |
7 | C. Oncu | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +0.857 | 274,1 |
8 | R. De Rosa | Ducati Panigale V2 | +1.065 | 270,7 |
9 | S. Jespersen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +1.190 | 270,7 |
10 | N. Tuuli | MV Agusta F3 800 RR | +1.464 | 272,0 |
11 | H. Soomer | Triumph Street Triple RS | +1.637 | 276,9 |
12 | S. Manzi | Triumph Street Triple RS | +1.653 | 272,0 |
13 | A. Huertas | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +1.721 | 268,0 |
14 | O. Bayliss | Ducati Panigale V2 | +1.732 | 274,8 |
15 | G. Van Straalen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.005 | 266,0 |
16 | J. Cluzel | Yamaha YZF R6 | +2.167 | 267,3 |
17 | P. Sebestyen | Yamaha YZF R6 | +3.050 | 267,3 |
18 | L. Taccini | Yamaha YZF R6 | +3.253 | 270,7 |
19 | T. Booth-Amos | Kawasaki ZX-6R | +4.223 | 266,0 |
20 | O. Vostatek | Yamaha YZF R6 | +4.367 | 264,7 |
21 | A. Verdoia | Yamaha YZF R6 | +4.509 | 268,0 |
Not Qualifed | ||||
NQ | U. Orradre | Yamaha YZF R6 | +4.891 | 268,7 |
NQ | L. Bernardi | Ducati Panigale V2 | +5.705 | 269,3 |
NQ | M. Brenner | Yamaha YZF R6 | +5.875 | 264,7 |
WorldSSP Championship Points
Pos | Rider | Points |
 1 |  Dominique Aegerter |  462 |
 2 |  Lorenzo Baldassarri |  359 |
 3 |  Can Oncu |  248 |
 4 |  Nicolo Bulega |  210 |
 5 |  Stefano Manzi |  207 |
 6 |  Federico Caricasulo |  191 |
 7 |  Niki Tuuli |  152 |
 8 |  Yari Montella |  136 |
 9 |  Raffaele De Rosa |  127 |
 10 |  Jules Cluzel |  127 |
 11 |  Glenn Van Straalen |  111 |
 12 |  Adrian Huertas |  110 |
 13 |  Hannes Soomer |  94 |
 14 |  Bahattin Sofuoglu |  72 |
 15 |  Andy Verdoia |  59 |
 16 |  Oliver Bayliss |  53 |
 17 |  Valentin Debise |  43 |
 18 |  Kyle Smith |  35 |
 19 |  Leonardo Taccini |  35 |
 20 |  Peter Sebestyen |  34 |
 21 |  Marcel Brenner |  32 |
 22 |  Simon Jespersen |  31 |
 23 |  Mattia Casadei |  25 |
 24 |  Isaac Vinales |  22 |
 25 |  Patrick Hobelsberger |  21 |
 26 |  Thomas Booth-Amos |  21 |
 27 |  Ondrej Vostatek |  20 |
 28 |  Steven Odendaal |  16 |
 29 |  Unai Orradre |  9 |
 30 |  Tom Edwards |  7 |
 31 |  Luca Ottaviani |  5 |
 32 |  Bradley Smith |  2 |
 33 |  Maximilian Kofler |  2 |
 34 |  Nicholas Spinelli |  1 |
 35 |  Benjamin Currie |  1 |
Phillip Island WSBK/ASBK Round Schedule
Friday November 18 | ||
0850 | ASBK SS 300 FP1 | 20min |
0915 | ASBK SS FP1 | 25min |
0945 | ASBK SBK FP1 | 30min |
1030 | WorldSSP FP1 | 45 min |
1130 | WorldSBK FP1 | 45 min |
1225 | Pit Walk / Pillion Rides | 30 min |
1305 | ASBK SS300 Qualifying | 20 min |
1335 | ASBK SS Qualifying | 20 min |
1405 | ASBK SBK FP2 | 30 min |
1500 | WorldSSP FP2 | 45 min |
1600 | WorldSBK FP2 | 45 min |
1705 | ASBK SS300 Race One | 8 laps |
Saturday November 19 | ||
0850 | ASBK SBK Qualifying | 30 min |
0940 | ASBK SS300 Race Two | 8 laps |
1015 | ASBK SS Race One | 10 laps |
1050 | WorldSBK FP3 | 30 min |
1140 | ASBK SBK Race One | 12 laps |
1225 | WorldSSP Superpole | 20 min |
1310 | WorldSBK Superpole | 15 min |
1340 | Pit Walk / Pillion Rides | 30 min |
1430 | WorldSSP Race One | 18 laps |
1515 | Safety Car Laps | 20 min |
1600 | WorldSBK Race One | 22 laps |
1720 | ASBK SS Race Two | 10 laps |
Sunday November 20 | ||
0850 | Pillion Rides | 20 min |
0920 | ASBK SS300 Race Three | 8 laps |
0950 | ASBK SBK Race Two | 12 laps |
1030 | WorldSBK Warm Up | 15 min |
1055 | WorldSSP Warm Up | 15 min |
1130 | ASBK SS Race Three | 10 laps |
1205 | Pit Walk / ASBK SS Trophy Presentation | 30 min |
1300 | WorldSBK Superpole Race | 10 laps |
1340 | ASBK SBK Race Three | 12 laps |
1430 | WorldSSP Race Two | 18 laps |
1505 | Safety Car Laps / ASBK SS & SBK Presentations | 25 min |
1600 | WorldSBK Race Two | 22 laps |