WSBK weekend in Misano

16.06.2024

Race 1

In Superpole, the Italian rider scored the fastest lap time to secure the first spot on the grid. However, his lap time got cancelled due to a yellow flag, and Razgatlioglu (BMW) was promoted to pole position. In Race 1, Bulega's start was not incisive; on the third lap, he even found himself in sixth place. The Italian rider reacted immediately, and over the next four laps, he managed to move up to second after passing his teammate. Although he was showing a competitive race pace, Bulega could not recover the gap on Razgatlioglu and had to settle for the second step of the podium.

Bautista got off the line well from fifth on the grid, and by the first corner, he was already third. On lap six, the Spaniard took second after passing Gardner (Yamaha). However, as the feeling with his Ducati Panigale V4R wasn’t the best, he couldn’t defend himself from Bulega's attack. Michele Pirro made no mistakes and finished 13th after recovering five positions.

Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #11) - 2nd:
"Unfortunately, the start wasn’t one my best. I immediately lost contact with the front guys and had to recover some positions. When I could make my way clear, I tried to push to catch Toprak. Towards half of the race, I thought I could catch him, but his pace was really incisive. We will try again tomorrow."

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #1) - 3rd:
"It wasn’t an easy race for me. I got off the line well, but the feeling I had, especially with the front, did not allow me to push as I wanted to. Now, we will study the data to find a setup that will suit the higher temperatures expected for tomorrow."

Michele Pirro (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #51) - 13th:
"Unfortunately, qualifying didn't go well, and as if that wasn't enough, I had a little mishap at the start. I basically found myself last, and that's why, in the end, the thirteenth place is a good result. All in all, I gained experience that I can use tomorrow."

Race 2

The Pirelli Emilia Romagna Round ended with another double podium for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, with riders Nicolò Bulega and Alvaro Bautista finishing second and third, respectively.

The Italian rider, who also finished second in the Superpole Race, took the lead at Turn 1 and tried to put some distance between himself and the rest of the group. However, thanks to an impressive pace, Razgatlioglu (BMW) managed to overtake him on Lap 8. From that moment onwards, the positions remained unchanged. Nonetheless, it was an extremely solid weekend for Bulega, who is now second in the overall standings of the World Superbike Championship, 21 points behind Razgatlioglu, and with a 3-point advantage over his teammate.

Alvaro Bautista was forced to start 11th on the grid following a crash in the Superpole Race. Nevertheless, the rider from Talavera staged an impressive comeback, concluding on Lap 10 when he overtook Lowes for the third step of the podium.

It was an unfortunate race for Pirro, who crashed after attempting an overtaking maneuver on Lowes (Ducati) for the 12th position.

Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #11) - 2nd:
“I am thrilled. Competing for the first time in Misano with the Superbike and finishing all races in second place is, without a doubt, a great result, even though winning would have been a dream. Anyway, I have to say congratulations to Toprak because he has been really fast. Now we will head to Donington, a circuit that I like a lot.”

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #1) - 3rd:
“I made a great comeback, and I should say that I had fun. For sure, we are still not in our best shape. We worked a lot on the bike this weekend, trying to find the ideal set-up, which, in the end, we were not able to find. Now, we need to reset and analyze the data in order to arrive at Donington with more certainty.”

Race results

Pos.	Nr.	Driver	Bike	Time-gap to Leader
1	54	T. Razgatlioglu	M1000RR	33:06.338
2	11	N. Bulega	Panigale V4R	2.980
3	1	A. Bautista	Panigale V4R	6.920
4	22	A. Lowes	ZX-10RR	9.951
5	55	A. Locatelli	YZF R1	11.974
6	9	D. Petrucci	Panigale V4R	15.900
7	47	A. Bassani	ZX-10RR	16.055
8	87	R. Gardner	YZF R1	19.125
9	7	I. Lecuona	CBR1000 RR-R	22.535
10	65	J. Rea	YZF R1	27.237
11	29	A. Iannone	Panigale V4R	27.292
12	45	S. Redding	M1000RR	29.948
13	14	S. Lowes	Panigale V4R	31.044
14	53	T. Rabat	ZX-10RR	38.090
15	5	P. Öttl	YZF R1	43.840
16	21	M. Rinaldi	Panigale V4R	43.852
17	28	B. Ray	YZF R1	44.363
18	31	G. Gerloff	M1000RR	45.078
19	95	T. Mackenzie	CBR1000 RR-R	48.580
NC	51	M. Pirro	Panigale V4R
NC	97	X. Vierge	CBR1000 RR-R
NC	60	M. van der Mark	M1000RR
NC	77	D. Aegerter	YZF R1
NC	27	A. Norrodin	CBR1000 RR-R

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