After only 13 races so far in the 2023 World Superbike Championship Alvaro Bautista has a lead of 78 points.

The first race of the weekend at Misano witnessed the now yellow Aruba Ducati storm home to victory once again in the hands of Bautista. The Spanish rider claimed his win with a massive margin of 5.2 seconds.

The race was not the most exciting spectacle that World Superbikes has delivered this season, but it was business as usual for Ducati despite their fresh look.

Michael Ruben Rinaldi backed up Bautista’s performance by crossing the line in second place as he carries on his good form around Misano. Rinaldi may have been over 5 seconds behind his team-mate but it is a crucial result to try and keep his Aruba Ducati ride for 2024.

Rounding out the podium for Race One was the BMW bound Toprak Razgatlioglu. The Turkish rider who is still on a Yamaha R1 was 8.9 seconds behind Bautista but took another important podium to solidify his second place in the standings.

Ducati just missed out on a full podium lockout as Axel Bassani finished in fourth place on his Motocorsa Ducati machine. This Italian youngster is in a fight for the 2024 Aruba.it Ducati seat and being beaten by Rinaldi is definitely not part of his plan.

The six-time World Champion Jonathan Rea rounded out the top five as he finished fifth after a race long scrap with Dominique Aegerter. Being 18 seconds behind Bautista after 25 laps must be a depressing sight for Rea and his Kawasaki crew.

Alex Lowes came home in eighth place after a crash in qualifying left him starting from 10th on the grid. The man who looks like he could be leaving Kawasaki come the end of 2023 narrowly beat Iker Lecuona and Remy Gardner.

Xavi Vierge rounded out the top ten as the second highest Honda in the race. Vierge was a solid 29 seconds behind Bautista, showing the amazing pace the little Spaniard set out front.

Rounding out the other British riders we had Scott Redding who finished in 11th place, Tom Sykes crossed the line in 16th on his return to BMW and then Bradley Ray who finished 18th after having problems on the race start.