Nicolo Bulega took pole position during World Superbike Superpole qualifying Saturday at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, in Australia. Riding his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4R on spec Pirelli tires, Bulega covered the 2.76-mile (4.45 km) track in 1:28.244 to lead the 21-rider field.
Yari Montella qualified second with a 1:28.663 on his Barni Spark Ducati Panigale V4R.
Sam Lowes did a 1:28.729 on his ELF Marc VDS Racing Ducati Panigale V4R to earn the third and final spot on the front row.
Row two starters include Bimota by Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes (1:28.943), and Axel Bassani (1:28.972), and ROKiT BMW’s Danilo Petrucci (1:29.049).
American Garrett Gerloff qualified 8th with a 1:29.237 on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
More from a press release issued by Dorna:
Bulega became the first rider since Troy Bayliss to take three consecutive poles at Phillip Island, while Montella claimed his first front row start in WorldSBK.
It was a historic Tissot Superpole session for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) claimed pole position, giving Ducati their 200th in the Championship. The #11 was 0.419s clear of his rivals, the biggest pole margin at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit since Troy Bayliss beat Troy Corser by 0.518s in 2008, as he led a Ducati front-row lockout. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) will go from the front row for the first time in WorldSBK, with Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) joining them on the front row during the Australian Round.
THE FIRST RUN: Bulega lays down a gauntlet, Oliveira crashes
Bulega was the early pacesetter with a 1’28.610s to lock in a provisional pole position, with Montella and Sam Lowes completing an early top three. There was disruption to the early running of the 15-minute session when Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) crashed at Turn 2, with the #88 falling on his first flying lap. He was able to remount his bike and return it to the pits for repairs. However, Oliveira was unable to return to the track once he returned to the pits and he failed to set a lap time.
BULEGA MATCHES BAYLISS: Third consecutive Phillip Island pole for the #11, Montella on the front row
Despite having a 0.266s advantage over Montella heading into the second runs, Bulega found another couple of tenths to set a 1’29.392s to cement his grip on pole position, with the #11 one of the first to head out and start their second runs. On the second lap of his second run, he improved once again to a 1’28.244s. He secured his third consecutive pole on ‘The Island’, the first rider to do so since Troy Bayliss between 2006 and 2008. Montella has always been strong at Phillip Island and continued that with second, 0.419s behind Bulega, as he claimed his first front row start in WorldSBK. The front row will be completed by Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), with the #14 exchanging positions with Montella in the latter stages, as he posted a 1’28.729s.
BIMOTAS QUICK, PETRUCCI FINDS GAINS: On the second row
Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) will be just one place behind his twin brother as he finished fourth after posting a 1’28.943s, 0.699s off the pole-setting time. Both Bimotas will line up alongside each other with Axel Bassani in fifth, 0.029s behind the #22. Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had been a bit off the pace as he adapted to the BMW M 1000 RR machine, but he pulled out a 1’29.049s to claim a second-row start with P6.
BALDASARRI CONTINUES TO IMPRESS: P7 after shadowing Bulega
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) secured his first top-ten Superpole result in WorldSBK with seventh place. His 1’29.191s lap time came when he followed Bulega in the latter stages of the session. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) will go from eighth place with the #31 the last rider within a second of Bulega. Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the lead Yamaha rider in ninth as rookie Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) rounded out the top ten.
WORK TO DO: Bautista in P12, Lecuona P13, Locatelli P15
There are a few riders who will think they are out of position. Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) is the only other rider, after Bulega, to take a pole at Phillip Island but he will go from 12th. He’s directly ahead of Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in 13th. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) has only been out of the top seven in terms of race results once at ‘The Island’, but will line up from 15th on the grid.
The top six from WorldSBK Superpole, full results here:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’28.244s
2. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.419s
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.485s
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.699s
5. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.728s
6. Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.805s
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