Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) dominated the Italian Round. The Ducati star led a total of 47 laps this weekend as he asserted his status as the title favourite in front of a weekend attendance of 43,234 fans.
Race 2 Highlights
Bulega led from pole position at the start before Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) attacked at the final corner. The Turkish rider led the opening four tours of the 3.768km Cremona Circuit before Bulega answered back. Bulega was pressured by Razgatlioglu for much of the race but the gap extended to just under two seconds by the end of 23 laps.
From the front row of the grid Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) stayed in contact with the leaders but ultimately spent the entire race in third position.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was the leading Independent Rider. The Italian finished in fourth position after making steady progress from sixth on the grid in the first third of the race.
A race long scrap for fifth position was settled on the last lap with Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) claiming the honours ahead of the Honda HRC duo of Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge.
Championship Highlights
Bulega extends his championship lead to 34 points from Razgatlioglu.
After a clean sweep of wins Ducati are now 61 points ahead of BMW in the Manufacturers Standings.
COMING NEXT
Autodrom Most will host the fifth round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, the Motul Czech Round, on May 16-18.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“If I had been told a few days ago that I would win three races here in Cremona I wouldn’t have believed it! Winning at this track, my worst track, is something I couldn’t imagine. I want to say thank you to all the Italian fans who came to support us. It’s really special to win here in Italy, in front of so many Italians. This has been my most difficult circuit, and I still can’t believe I managed a hat-trick here. At the start of the season I was thinking that ‘I don’t want to go to Cremona, and now… I’ve taken three wins here. Toprak is always very strong, especially at Most, so I don’t have a specific plan going into that round other than to give 100% and try to beat him. And if I can’t beat him, I’ll try to stay as close as possible.”
P2 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
“I tried to battle with Nicolo but he had a really strong pace. The Ducati is very fast on this track. Congratulations to Nicolo and the Ducati riders because they’ve been very strong this weekend. I pushed so hard and I gave my best in each race. I’m always trying to improve to fight for the win but P2 is better than nothing. I’m happy. I want to thank my team because they did an incredible job this weekend. We improved a lot from Friday and we’ll see what happens in Most. I’m ready to fight for the win again. Thank you very much.”
P3 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It’s nice to be back on the podium, especially after how the weekend started on Friday. I’m happy because I’ve improved my feeling with the bike, and my pace today was better than yesterday’s. We made progress on Saturday and today we took another step forward. It wasn’t enough to fight with Toprak and Nicolo, but at least we’re closing the gap, and I’m happy about that. It’s always a pleasure to race here in Italy with all these fans.”
Race 2 Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +1.826s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +8.995s
4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +17.888s
5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +22.131s
6. Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) +22.333s
Tissot Superpole Race Highlights
A lights to flag victory Bulega saw Razgatlioglu trail him home throughout the 10 lap race ahead of Alvaro Bautista.
From the fifth row of the grid Petrucci came through the pack to finish in sixth position having attacked Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) at two thirds race distance.
A fast starting Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) was too quick off the line and was given a double Long Lap Penalty. It dropped the Italian down the order but he rode well to finish in eighth position and have a second row start for Race 2.
Superpole Race Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +1.456s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +6.060s
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