Tissot Superpole Highlights: Bulega smashes lap record to take pole
For the fourth time this season Nicolo Bulega headed the times in the Tissot Superpole session. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider smashed the WorldSBK lap record at the Circuito de Jerez Angel Nieto with a time of 1’37.596. Bulega qualified on the front two rows of the grid in all 12 Superpole sessions, including nine front row starts, to win the Tissot Superpole Award for the 2024 campaign.
Toprak Razgatlioglu’s (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) final stint was interrupted by a yellow flag but the Turkish rider still qualified second. It was the eighth time this season the BMW Motorrad star qualified on the front row.
History was made in the opening race of the weekend with Toprak Razgatlioglu clinching BMW’s first WorldSBK Championship. By finishing second Razgatlioglu has opened an unassailable lead of 41 points over Bulega. In the early stages of the race Razgatlioglu gave chase to Bulega at the front of the field but when the gap stretched to over one second at one third distance he made sure to settle for the points needed to seal the title.
Bulega led every lap and set the fastest lap of the race on Lap 2 in a perfect performance by the Ducati rookie.
Having raced at the front at the Portuguese Round last weekend Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) was once more in the thick of things throughout the race. Locatelli made a scorching start from sixth position and spent the race in third spot. He was under pressure throughout from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and Iker Lecona (Team HRC) but withstood the attacks to finish on the podium for the fourth time this season.
Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished sixth after a race long fight with Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) that saw the duo run nose to tail from Lap 2 onwards.
Championship Standings Highlights
- The top three in the standings are now confirmed with Razgatlioglu ahead of Bulega and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
- Ducati were confirmed Manufacturers Champions. With two races remaining the Italian manufacturer holds a 40 point lead over BMW
P1 | Nicolo Bulega | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“I’m really happy because we have taken another win. It was the maximum I could do today. Congratulations to Toprak and BMW for a fantastic season. They’ve been very strong in every race. I started this weekend very fast from the beginning, and I had a really good feeling from the first lap. I was able to push the way I wanted, and that was the key. The most important thing for me is when I can ride the bike the way I want. I’m able to ride with my natural riding style. That’s when I can be faster, and that’s what happened today. I hope tomorrow we can have another great race and finish the championship on a high note. Winning the last race of the season is important for the mentality going into next year.”
World Champion (P2) | Toprak Razgatlioglu | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“It hasn’t been an easy season for me. When I signed with BMW, some people said that my career was over but now we are World Champion. Everyone now understands my potential on the bike and that the BMW is a winning bike. I’m really happy. I want to say thanks to my team who have worked so hard every weekend! We are World Champions!”
P3 | Andrea Locatelli | Pata Prometeon Yamaha
“We deserved this podium. We’re always close to making a podium. In the last part of the season, we’ve made a step forward and been fighting in the top five and now we’re back on the podium. We were close in Estoril, but we were unlucky. I was really struggling with the bike yesterday but today we did an amazing job, and the confidence was there since Superpole. We had an amazing Race 1. Let’s try to do even better tomorrow.”
WorldSBK Race 1 Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +6.067s
3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +9.361s
4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +11.249s
5. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +13.597s
6. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +14.976s
Fastest lap: Nicolo Bulega, Ducati – 1’39.371s
Championship Standings
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 493 points
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 452 points
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 356 points
WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’37.596s
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.606s
3. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.706s
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©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of WorldSBK.com
