Nicolo Bulega earned pole position during FIM Superbike World Championship qualifying Saturday at Cremona Circuit, in Italy. Riding his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R on Pirelli control tires, the rookie sensation lapped the 2.34-mile course in 1:27.953 to top the field of 25 riders even though he crashed with five minutes left in the session.

Andrea Iannone was second-best and the top Independent rider with a 1:28.068 on his Team GoEleven Ducati.

Fan favorite Danilo Petrucci was third with a 1:28.285 on his Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati.

Alex Lowes heads row two (fourth overall) with the 1:28.310 he turned on his factory Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR.

Pata Prometeon Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli got fifth with a 1:28.602.

Alex Lowes’ identical twin brother Sam Lowes grabbed the sixth grid spot, and the last spot on row two, with a time of 1:28.615 on his Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Ducati.

American Garrett Gerloff did a 1:28.959 on his Bonovo Action BMW M 1000 RR, which put him 11th on the grid and the top BMW rider.

The session was plagued with five crashes that brought out yellow flags that left competitors with about 10 minutes in the 18-minute session to record lap times. Qualifying times turned while a yellow is being displayed on course are not allowed.