Nicolo Bulega won FIM Superbike World Championship Superpole Race Sunday morning at Portimao, in Portugal. Bulega started from pole position and rode his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4R to a 1.882-second margin of victory in the 10-lap race.
His teammate, Iker Lecuona was the runner-up, and Miguel Oliveira rode his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR to third.
Alex Lowes finished the race fourth on his Bimota by Kawasaki KB998 Rimini and Sam Lowes got fifth on his ELF Marc VDS Ducati Panigale V4R.
Danilo Petrucci crossed the finish line 12th on his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR.
American Garrett Gerloff was 14th on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
Nicolo Bulega leads the championship with 99 points, 47 ahead of Axel Bassani who has 52 points. Iker Lecuona is third with 48 points.
superpole race wsbk
ChampionshipStandings wsbk
More from a press release issued by WorldSBK:
Bulega claims Superpole Race victory ahead of teammate Lecuona, Oliveira repeats Race 1 rostrum at Portimao. The Italian rider is up to nine consecutive wins, while Lecuona and Oliveira have made it back-to-back podiums.
Nicolo Bulega’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) winning run in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has extended to nine following his Tissot Superpole Race victory ahead of teammate Iker Lecuona and Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). The #11 resisted an early challenge from Portuguese rider Oliveira, before the #88 fell behind Lecuona in the second half of the race at the Pirelli Portuguese Round.
SECURING A PODIUM: Bulega, Lecuona and Oliveira celebrate again
As in Race 1, Bulega got a good start as the lights went out, as did Oliveira who followed the #11 over the opening lap. At the start of Lap 2, Bulega started to pull a gap but the home hero bridged that in the second half of the lap to keep within touching distance of the race leader. A new race lap record on Lap 3 and again on Lap 4 for Bulega gave him a big advantage over the Portuguese star and allowed the Italian to manage the race as he secured victory and P1 on the grid for Race 2. On Lap 6, Lecuona completed his recovery from a poor start to pass Oliveira to take P2, with Oliveira settling for a second podium in two races on home soil. The trio will start from the front row in Race 2.
CLOSE TO THE TOP THREE: Alex Lowes forced to settle for P4
Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) had looked to challenge Oliveira but claimed P4 and a second row start for Race 2. He’ll be joined on the second row by twin brother Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) with Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) completing that second row; he had been on the front row for Race 1 and the Superpole Race.
STARTING RACE 2 FROM ROW 3: Vierge joined Bassani and Bautista
Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) will go from P7 on the Race 2 grid after his finish in the same position in the Superpole Race. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) gained places compared to his original starting position as he finished in eighth, coming home less than a second clear of Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) who completes the Race 2 third row.
HOUSEKEEPING: Two riders crash from the 10-lap race
There were two retirements from the Superpole Race. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) crashed at Turn 13 on Lap 6, with the FIM WorldSBK Stewards investigating an incident there. Shortly after on Lap 7, Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) came down at Turn 5.
The top nine from the Tissot Superpole Race, full results here:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.882s
3. Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +2.401s
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +2.781s
5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +4.706s
6. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +5.596s
7. Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +6.457s
8. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +6.896s
9. Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) +7.704s
Fastest lap: Nicolo Bulega, Ducati – 1’39.107s, new race lap record
Catch WorldSBK Race 2 at 15:30 Local Time (UTC+1) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!
