Nicolo Bulega took pole position during World Superbike Superpole qualifying Saturday at Jerez, in Spain. Riding his Aruba.it Racing Ducati Panigale V4 R on 2.75-mile (4.42 km) track, Bulega recorded a lap time of 1:36.629, which was not only good enough to top the 25-rider field and secure pole position it also eclipsed his own 2024 All-Time Lap Record of 1:37.596.
Toprak Razgatlioglu qualified second with a 1:37.153 on his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR.
Sam Lowes did a 1:37.601 on his ELF Marc VDS Ducati Panigale V4R to earn the third and final spot on the front row.
Row two starters include Bimota Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes (1:37.683), Team Pata Go Eleven’s Andrea Iannonce (1:37.748), and GYTR GRT Yamaha’s Remy Gardner (1:37.780).
Americans Garrett Gerloff qualified 15th with a 1:38.577 on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR and wildcard Bobby Fong finished 24th on his Attack Performance Yamaha YZF-R1 with a lap time of 1:40.213.
More from a press release issued by Dorna:
LAP RECORD DESTROYED: Bulega unbeatable in Superpole as he claims Jerez pole ahead of Razgatlioglu. Bulega’s lap time was unbelievable as he set a 1’36.629s to become only the second rider, after Tom Sykes, to claim two poles at Jerez.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) set a lap time that left jaws dropped in Tissot Superpole for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as he claimed pole at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, Andalucia. He was the only rider in the 1’36s bracket as he obliterated his own lap record from last year on the way to beating Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) to P1 on the timesheets.
THE FIRST RUN: Bulega quickest, Razgatlioglu with lots to find…
Razgatlioglu was immediately into the 1’37s with a 1’37.707s as he claimed an early provisional pole, but Bulega was rapid on his first flying lap: he was 0.278s faster after two sectors on his way to setting a barely-believable 1’36.927s as he put a huge eight-tenths gap between himself and ‘El Turco’, who found himself demoted to P3 as Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) moved into second.
UNBELIEVABLE LAP TIME: ‘Bulegas’ smashes the lap record to beat ‘El Turco’
Razgatlioglu was one of the first to set a lap time on the second runs, in the final 5 minutes, and had to find almost eight tenths just to challenge Bulega’s time. He set a 1’37.153s to move within two tenths, but Bulega was going even faster on his next lap: he set a 1’36.629s to go 0.524s clear of Razgatlioglu, while going almost a second quicker than his pole time from 2024. It was Bulega’s fifth pole of the season and ninth overall, while the #1 claimed his 12th front row start of the season – a 100% record. Sam Lowes completed the front row with a 1’37.601s, 0.972s off the pole time. However, the #14 was declared unfit following the session, promoting everyone behind him up one place.
CLOSELY-PACKED FIELD: Little to separate P4 to P6
Sam’s brother, Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), had been one place behind the #14 after moving up to P4 with a 1’37.683s, but moves up to P3, while Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) will go from P4; he was a tenth away from the #22 directly ahead. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) put in a 1’37.780s to claim P6 on the timesheets and a second row start for the first two races of the weekend.
REA FROM P6: Can the #65 claim a rostrum from the second row?
Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) will go from the second row after a 1’37.986s, directly ahead of Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who was a tenth slower than the #65. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) has been quick all weekend and he rounded out the top nine on the timesheets with a 1’38.135s, with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) narrowly behind him by 0.017s.
The top six from WorldSBK Superpole, full results here:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’36.629s
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.524s
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.972s*
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +1.054s
5. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) +1.119s
6. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +1.151s
*Declared unfit following Superpole
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