MirSBK
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) broke the Jerez-Angel Nieto track record to claim his third pole position in four rounds of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. His 1’37.596 was the first 1’37 in Jerez and he took first position, 0.606 seconds ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who is preparing for the title fight at Prometeon in Spain.
FIRST ROUND: Bulega breaks record
Razgatlioglu’s first lap of 1’38.306s was eight tenths faster than the best lap in free practice, but Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) soon lowered that record by 0.004s on his first lap. But Bulega went further and set a time of 1’38.141s, breaking the all-time record in Jerez. The Italian made a second attempt in his first run, although he was running less than a tenth slower than his best time. Ducati opted for an alternative strategy as both Bulega and teammate Alvaro Bautista entered the track later and completed two fast laps.
NEW RECORD… AGAIN: Bulega goes even faster, and Razgatlioglu is second
In the second stint, Razgatlioglu followed his teammate Michael van der Mark and improved his time by 0.154 seconds, but yellow flags appeared after Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) crashed at turn six. This gave the initiative to Bulega, who took advantage of the opportunity to set a 1’37.596 in Jerez, the first 1’37 in WorldSBK history. Razgatlıoğlu’s second lap was six tenths slower than Bulega’s, but this secured him second place. Alex Laws completed the front row in third place, one tenth behind the Turk. With this pole, Bulega won the 2024 Tissot Superpole Award, as well as his fourth pole of the season. The gap of 0.606 seconds is also the largest between first and second at Jerez, beating the previous record by two tenths.
SECOND ROW: Petrucci will start fourth, ahead of Lecuona and Locatelli.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) moved up positions on his final lap to take fourth place in the Superpole, 0.758 seconds behind Bulega’s time. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) was the fastest Honda rider, one second behind Bulega, but that was enough to take fifth place, ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha), the top Yamaha, in sixth.
COMPLETING THE TOP TEN: Vierge, seventh, and Rinaldi, ninth.
Xavi Vierge was seventh and Honda placed two CBR1000RR-Rs in the top seven. Van der Mark is 0.003 seconds behind and will start from eighth position. Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) was ninth in 1’38.750s, with American Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW), the FP3 leader, completing the top ten.
FAR BEHIND: Bautista in fifth, Rea in 16th after fall
Rea could only manage 16th after crashing at turn six, finishing one place behind defending champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). Once again, the player from Talavera managed to occupy only the fifth row on the grid.
The top six finishers in the WorldSBK Tissot Superpole, complete results here:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’37.596s
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.606 s.
3. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.706 sec.
4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.758 s.
5. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +0.995 s.
6. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +1.069 pp.
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