Misano WSBK: Bautista scores Ducati's first 2022 pole

Having set the pace in practice, Bautista also led the timesheets early on in the 15-minute session, setting the early benchmark of 1m33.802s.

Reigning champion Razgatlioglu then set the quickest time of the weekend so far on his factory Yamaha, a 1m33.608s, before it was Rea’s turn to take the top spot with a 1m33.523s.

The Kawasaki rider’s time stood unbeaten until the final three minutes of the session, when Bautista set a new lap record with a 1m33.328s to claim his fifth career pole in the WSBK.

Razgatlioglu managed to find a tenth over his previous lap and then improved further to a 1m33.465s on his last effort, but that still left him a tenth shy of the championship leader, putting him second on the grid for Saturday’s opening contest.

Like Razgatlioglu, Rea also gained a significant chunk of time on his final run but ultimately had to settle for third on the grid, trailing Bautista by just under two tenths of a second.

Rea’s Kawasaki teammate Alex Lowes qualified a strong fourth as he continued his recovery from a difficult 2021 season, while home favourite Michael Ruben Rinaldi ended up fifth on the  second of the factory Ducatis.

Next up was Andrea Locatelli on the factory Yamaha, albeit over six tenths off the pole time, while Xavi Vierge outqualified his Honda teammate Iker Lecuona to take seventh on the grid.

Scott Redding held a strong fourth on the factory BMW with five minutes left in the session, but slipped to ninth in the final order, just ahead of top independent rider Axel Bassani on the Motocorsa Ducati.

GRT Yamaha’s Garrett Gerloff ended up 11th, while the fourth row of the grid was completed by Bonovo MGM BMW rider Loris Baz.

Tito Rabat qualified 19th on his return to WSBK with the Puccetti Kawasaki team, where he is replacing the injured Lucas Mahias.

Misano WSBK - Qualifying results:

Cla	Rider	Bike	Time	Gap	km/h
1	Alvaro Bautista	Ducati	1'33.328		163.012
2	Toprak Razgatlioglu	Yamaha	1'33.465	0.137	162.773
3	Jonathan Rea	Kawasaki	1'33.518	0.190	162.680
4	Alex Lowes	Kawasaki	1'33.669	0.341	162.418
5	Michael Ruben Rinaldi	Ducati	1'33.674	0.346	162.410
6	Andrea Locatelli	Yamaha	1'33.949	0.621	161.934
7	Xavi Vierge	Honda	1'33.991	0.663	161.862
8	Iker Lecuona	Honda	1'33.999	0.671	161.848
9	Scott Redding	BMW	1'34.039	0.711	161.779
10	Axel Bassani	Ducati	1'34.117	0.789	161.645
11	Garrett Gerloff	Yamaha	1'34.514	1.186	160.966
12	Loris Baz	BMW	1'34.520	1.192	160.956
13	Philipp Oettli	Ducati	1'34.530	1.202	160.939
14	Roberto Tamburini	Yamaha	1'34.654	1.326	160.728
15	Eugene Laverty	BMW	1'34.723	1.395	160.611
16	Kohta Nozane	Yamaha	1'34.939	1.611	160.246
17	Christophe Ponsson	Yamaha	1'34.994	1.666	160.153
18	Hafizh Syahrin	Honda	1'35.315	1.987	159.613
19	Tito Rabat	Kawasaki	1'35.420	2.092	159.438
20	Gabriele Ruiu	BMW	1'35.462	2.134	159.368
21	Luca Bernardi	Ducati	1'35.614	2.286	159.114
22	Leandro Mercado	Honda	1'35.746	2.418	158.895
23	Illia Mykhalchyk	BMW	1'35.813	2.485	158.784
24	Oliver Konig	Kawasaki	1'36.209	2.881	158.130
25	Alessandro Del Bianco	Kawasaki	1'36.494	3.166	157.663
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