WorldSBK: Home domination for Bulega and Ducati
WorldSBK: Nicolo Bulega capped off a perfect weekend at Misano World Circuit – Marco Simoncelli with a hat-trick of victories where he led every lap and set a new lap record.
With a bumper crowd of 76,170 the Italian fans were treated to a trio of Ducati riders on the podium in all three Superbike races.
Race 2 Highlights
Bulega, starting from pole position, was attacked at the opening corner by his Aruba.it Racing – Ducati teammate Iker Lecuona. The Spanish rider led for half a lap before Bulega came through at Turn 8. Lecuona immediately answered back at Turn 10 before running wide at the next corner. Once Bulega hit the front he applied the pressure on Bulega and set the fastest lap on Lap 5. At the same time Lecuona ran off track at Turn 12 and the battle for the win was settled.
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The scrap for the final step of the podium lasted for most of the 21 laps. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) ran in third position but under constant pressure from Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team). Bassani made a mistake at Turn 8 on Lap 17 and slid off the track. It allowed Montella through to complete a perfect set of home podiums.
Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) started from tenth on the grid but by the third tour he had moved into fifth position. He held that position until he was able to take advantage of his teammate’s misfortune to lead home Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) for fourth position.
The race saw attrition in the early stages with crashes for Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Bahattin Sofuoglu (Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) before a technical issue for Miguel Oliveira sidelined the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team rider.
Championship Highlights
- Bulega now holds a championship lead of 121 points over Lecuona following their eighteenth consecutive one-two finish. Montella has retaken third in the standings following the seventh round of the campaign. The Italian is now 14 points clear of Alex Lowes in their fight.
- Ducati are now 242 points ahead of bimota in the Manufacturers Championship. The Italian brand can wrap up the title at the next round
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It was an incredible weekend that I’ll remember for a long time. To take a hat-trick of wins here in Misano in front of all the Ducati fans is incredible. I’m really happy. This has been my best weekend since I came to WorldSBK. I don’t normally think about records, I always think about the next race instead, but now I know I’m the Italian rider with the most podiums in WorldSBK. To achieve this record here in Misano makes it even more special. We’ll go to Donington next and this is a track where half of the circuit suits my riding style and half doesn’t but last year I finished second. We have a new bike now so I hope to be fast there too.”
P2 – Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It was similar to yesterday but the Superpole Race was a bit better this morning. Before the race we changed a lot on the bike and we tried things that we had never tried before. In the Superpole Race I found something with the bike and I felt good and comfortable. To finish 1 second behind Nicolo wasn’t bad. Maybe we are starting to see a little bit of light. I also need to be happy because we are second in the championship. That is our situation right now. I struggled all weekend so we have to learn from this and work to see what we can do at the next round.”
P3 – Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team)
“Today was amazing! It was a really strong Sunday because this afternoon’s race was completely different from yesterday. I struggled a bit more because the conditions changed today. There was more wind and the temperature was much hotter. I kept pushing all day and I tried to put some pressure on Bassani and he made a mistake. I’m really sorry for him because I know what it means to lose a podium at your home race but I’m happy with the work we have done. We deserved this result, we were fast, and I’m so proud of the job we are doing with the team.”
Race 2 Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +5.101s
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +14.016s
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +15.959s
5. Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) 18.733s
6. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) +20.258s
Championship standings
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 434 points
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 313
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 170
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 156
5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) 148
6. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 128
Superpole Race Highlights
Bulega converted his pole position into an early lead and he refused to yield an inch to Lecuona throughout the course of the ten lap duration. The Ducati man set a new lap record on Lap 4 before opening a margin of one second at the flag.
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) made a strong start and quickly picked off Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) to move into the podium positions. When Lowes retired with a technical issue it allowed Montella to enjoy a comfortable outing en route to his seventh podium of the campaign.
A race long battle saw Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) battling with Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team). A mistake by Surra at Turn 14 allowed Bassani through for fourth position but Surra was adjudged to have rejoined the track in an irresponsible manner. The penalty to be served was to drop one position to Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). When Surra did not complete this during the race he was later handed a Long Lap Penalty that dropped him to seventh at the flag with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team Goeleven) having moved ahead of Oliveira for fifth position.
Andrea Locatelli was a fast starter for (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and spent the duration of the race inside the points-paying position. The Italian rider held off Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) at the flag.
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.133s
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +7.422s
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