Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed his second pole position of the season. The Italian rider however ended the Tissot Superpole Session in the gravel trap after a crash at Turn 2. His time of 1’27.953 was one tenth of a second faster than anyone else.
Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) qualified second while Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) set the third fastest time but a three place grid penalty relegated him to the second row for the start of Race 1.
Having qualified on the front row for the previous three rounds Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was fourth fastest but another rider who crashed in the closing stages.
Team HRC qualified with both riders inside the top ten for the first time this year. Xavi Vierge was seventh fastest and one tenth faster than his teammate Iker Lecuona in eighth fastest.
A red flag due to technical and safety issues drew the inaugural WorldSBK to a premature close but it ended with a popular race win for Petrucci. The 33 year old Italian became the 18th rider to win a WorldSBK Race and a MotoGP race having taken the lead on Lap 5.
The race started with a five rider group fighting it out at the front. From the second row of the grid Petrucci trialled Bulega and Iannone in the early laps. On Lap three Iannone took the lead but the Team GoEleven rider crashed at Turn 7 on Lap 8. Alex Lowes had been in contention for the podium positions but the Kawasaki rider was another crasher at Turn 7.
Bulega gave chase to Petrucci but as the race was due to enter the final third Petrucci started to open a commanding lead. When the red flags came out Bulega was 2.2s behind the race winner.
Having qualified on the fifth row of the grid Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) recovered to claim the final step on the podium. The reigning World Champion made steady progress throughout the race but is still suffering from his injuries from the French Round two weeks ago.
Fourth position marked the best result of the season for Lecuona while fifth was also a season’s best for Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK). Lecuona ran in the podium positions for four laps while Bassani came through from 12th on the grid.
Championship standings
With championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) sidelined by injury Bulega closed the points gap to 35 points. The Italian will retake the championship lead if he wins both races tomorrow.
The fight for third in the standings now sees Petrucci edging into contention. The Ducati rider is fifth in the stangings and 44 points behind Bautista.
Ducati also moved to the head of the Manufacturer Standings with their race victory. They hold an advantage of six points.
Key Points:
Pole position: Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’27.953s
Race 1 winner: Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team)
Fastest lap: Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) – 1’29.397s
“Winning this race is unbelievable for me. It’s just a great feeling. It was really unexpected for us too. I thought with the three position penalty it would be difficult to finish on the podium but, after a few laps, I realized I had good pace. When I went to the front I just focused on maintaining my pace without pushing too hard. I expected the pace to be faster and after a few laps I started to push more. Then, with five laps to go, the red flag came out. I wondered if two-thirds of the race had been completed and I wasn’t sure if it had. Then I realized I had won and I couldn’t believe it. This was really unexpected for me and I’ve now ticked almost all the boxes for my career. I feel more confident now and I’ve taken a big weight off my shoulders.”
P2 | Nicolo Bulega | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“These are 20 very important points to put in my pocket. I’m really happy with second place today because it’s very important. Danilo was very, very fast today. It was dangerous to follow him because he had something more than me. I didn’t feel comfortable with my bike, so I decided that 20 points were better than nothing. We need to work and maybe we’ll have to go back to what we know because we tried something different and I didn’t like it. So I think we’ll return to the setup that works, and I hope to have my 100% feeling back.”
P3 | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“It’s been a really difficult day. Yesterday, I didn’t feel too bad but in Superpole when I had to push harder I felt that I was missing some strength. I couldn’t set a really good lap time. Starting from the back at this track is difficult and in the first few laps I felt some pain in my ribs, probably from trying to push too hard in Superpole. During the race I felt stiff on the bike and for the first few laps I couldn’t push. At that time, I thought, ‘Okay, if I still feel like this after 5 or 6 laps, I’ll have to retire.’ But lap after lap, I started to feel better, and the pain lessened. It was easier to move on the bike and I could be more aggressive and regain my pace. Honestly, I didn’t expect to finish on the podium. I’m really happy because on Thursday, I didn’t even know if I could race this weekend. To finish on the podium having started from the fifth row is a really nice result. Now, I just have to recover for tomorrow.”
WorldSBK Race 1 Results
1. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.590s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +6.383s
4. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +7.583s
5. Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +10.125s
6. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) +10.211s
Championship Standings
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 365 points
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 330 points
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 259 points
WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’27.953s
2. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) +0.115s
3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.332s
4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.357s
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +0.649s
6. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.662s
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©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of WorldSBK.com
