Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed victory in Race 1 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as he led from lights out to the chequered flag as he beat his rivals for the first 25-point haul of the season. However, there were big stories behind him as both Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) claimed their first podiums in WorldSBK as the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit once again threw up plenty of surprises during the Australian Round.

THE EARLY LAPS: Bulega leads Montella, Baldassarri climbs the order

Bulega got the holeshot when lights went out for the opening race of the year, defending his pole position before building up a lead over his rivals. Montella held on to second as Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) initially moved up to the rostrum. Baldassarri was another who made quick progress, climbing from seventh on the grid to fourth, before passing Alex for P3 at Turn 1 on Lap 5.

ON THE ROSTRUM: Bulega victorious as Montella, Baldassarri stand on the podium

As the laps progressed, Bulega opened up the gap over Montella although the #11 was able to manage the gap at just under three seconds. Baldassarri was around two seconds behind Montella as he ran in a podium place, and, despite Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) hounding him over the final two laps, was able to hold on for a maiden podium. Bulega made it his fourth consecutive Phillip Island victory, with Montella holding on to take his first WorldSBK podium. For Bulega, it was his 21^st WorldSBK win as he equalled Max Biaggi’s tally, and made it his 14^th consecutive rostrum, equalling a streak set by four-time Champion Carl Fogarty across 1994 and 1995.

SIBLING RIVALRY: Sam vs Alex as Lecuona makes gains

The Lowes twins battled for fifth around halfway through the race as the #14 got ahead of the #22 at Turn 1 as they looked to close the gap to Bassani in fourth and Baldassarri in third. Once Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) got ahead of his brother, he quickly closed on Bassani as they fought over P4, renewing a rivalry that ignited in the early laps. Bassani bundled his way past the Ducati rider at Turn 4, with ‘El Bocia’ ordered to give the place back. Despite Sam Lowes chasing Bassani, the #47 held before setting his target on ‘Balda’ in P3, unable to close down his compatriot. Behind, Alex Lowes had to fight with Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who methodically made his way through the field to finish in the top six, with the Bimota rider in seventh.

HISTORIC COMEBACK: Oliveira from the back of the grid to P8

Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was forced to start from the back of the grid after a crash in Tissot Superpole session meant he didn’t set a time. However, the #88 battled his way through the field to claim eighth place on his WorldSBK debut and his 13 positions gained is the best comeback at Phillip Island since Ryuichi Kiyonari climbed from 19^th to sixth in Race 2 in 2008. Oliveira was a second clear of rookie Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing), who secured a top-ten result on his debut as he claimed P9. Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had a rollercoaster race. He started from sixth, dropped out of the top then before battling his way back into tenth.

SCORING POINTS: Late drama for Gerloff

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) had been on for a top ten but ran wide at Turn 4 in the closing stages, dropping him to 11^th although he was only 0.017s behind ‘Petrux’. Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Racing Performance) secured 12^th place ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha), who was outside the top seven when taking the flag at Phillip Island for the first time in his career. Tetsuta Nagashima (Honda HRC) was 14^th ahead of wildcard Ryan Vickers, who raced in WorldSBK for Honda HRC for the first time. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) was 16^th ahead of teammate Mattia Rato, who rounded out the WorldSBK field.

CRASHING OUT: Falls for Bautista and Vierge

Alvaro Bautista’s (Barni Spark Racing Team) new adventure got off to a bad start as he crashed at Turn 11 when he lost the front of his Panigale V4 R. Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) had been running inside the top ten when he had a big crash, losing it through the high-speed Turn 3 and coming to a stop on the inside of Turn 4. The #97 was taken to the medical centre for a check-up, where he was declared fit. There were two other retirements from Race 1. GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team’s Stefano Manzi retired in the first half of the race while teammate Remy Gardner came into the box with just a handful of laps to go.

The top six from WorldSBK Race 1, full results here:

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

2. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +4.776s

3. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) +6.147s

4. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +6.183s

5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +8.249s

6. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +12.549s

Fastest lap: Nicolo Bulega, Ducati – 1’29.168s

Watch all of Sunday’s action from Phillip Island from 10:30 Local Time (UTC+11) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!