Nicolo Bulega took pole position during World Superbike Superpole qualifying Saturday at Cremona Circuit, in Italy. Riding his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4R, Bulega navigated the 2.34-mile (3.76 km) course in 1:27.866, which was not only good enough to top the 24-rider field and secure pole position it also broke his own’s 2024 All-Time Lap Record of 1:27.953.
Sam Lowes qualified second with a 1:28.081 on his ELF Marc VDS Racing Team Ducati Panigale V4R.
2024 WorldSuperbike Champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu did a 1:28.159 on his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR to earn the third and final spot on the front row.
Row two starters include Bulega’s teammate, Alvaro Bautista (1:28.369), Honda HRC’s Xavi Vierge (1:28.495), and Andrea Iannone on his Team Pata Go Eleven Ducati Panigale V4R (1:28.531).
Danilo Petrucci finished 13th with a time of 1:28.787 on his Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati Panigale V4R.
American Garrett Gerloff qualified 18th with a 1:29.070 on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Bulega denies Sam Lowes pole after lap 1’27s lap at Cremona, Razgatlioglu completes front row. Polesitter Bulega beat his own lap record to claim a second pole position of 2025 as he took P1 on home soil.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed pole position at the Cremona Circuit for the second consecutive year in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after pipping Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) to P1 in the Tissot Superpole session. Home hero Bulega posted a lap-record beating 1’27s time to secure the best possible starting position for Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race, with Sam Lowes and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completing the front row.
THE FIRST RUN: Sam Lowes quick out of the blocks
After the first run, Lowes set the benchmark with a 1’28.081s to claim provisional pole ahead of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in second, with the #11 the last to head out on track but only able to lap 0.374s slower than Lowes. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) slotted into a provisional P3 ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha). With the short circuit, Bulega opted to complete two laps on his first run and improved his time to a 1’28.375s, but still three tenths behind the #14.
NEW LAP RECORD IS SET: Bulega claims late pole
In the final stages of Superpole, Bulega smashed the all-time lap record as he set a 1’27.866s to take his sixth WorldSBK pole position, putting him level with Cal Crutchlow and John Kocinski, and denying Sam Lowes a second consecutive pole. However, the Brit will still go from the front row alongside Bulega and with reigning Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completing row one with third place, a few tenths behind Bulega.
BAUTISTA ON THE SECOND ROW: #19 is P4, Lecuona P5
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed fourth as one of his best Superpole sessions of 2025 with a 1’28.369s, leading fellow Spanish rider Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) in fifth with just a tenth between the two as the #97 led Honda’s charge in the 15-minute session. Iannone’s provisional front row start translated into sixth for the Italian rider after he lapped 0.665s slower than Bulega.
GARDNER LEADS LECUONA ON ROW 3: the two Yamahas and Lecuona separated by 0.005s on the timesheets
Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the fastest Yamaha rider in Superpole and will line up from P7 on the grid, going only 0.001s faster than Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) in eighth and Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) in ninth; the Spaniard was only 0.005s slower than ‘Loka’ as he took a third-row start. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), as seen so often in Superpole, worked with teammate Razgatlioglu as he claimed tenth. However, after the session, Locatelli was given a three-place grid penalty for Race 1 for disturbing Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), meaning the #55 will start Race 1 from P11 – promoting Lecuona to P8, van der Mark to P9 and Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) to P10.
LATE CRASHES: Aegerter and Mackenzie fall
There were two crashes late on in the session, with Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) falling at Turn 2 and Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) going down at the same corner. The #97 was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following his crash, and was later declared fit.
The top six from WorldSBK Superpole, full results here:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’27.866s
2. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.215s
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.293s
4.Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.503s
5. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) +0.629s
6. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) +0.665s
Don’t miss Race 1 at 14:00 Local Time (UTC+2) from Cremona using the WorldSBK VideoPass!