The fight for all three podium places in the FIM Supersport World Championship in Race 1 for the Prosecco DOC Catalunya Round at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya was a thrilling affair as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) claimed his fifth win of the 2023 season while a familiar name returned to the podium. Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) put the Sofuoglu name back on the podium with a hard-fought third place after a scrap with his teammate as well as Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha).

HARD-FOUGHT WINS AND PODIUMS: Bulega on top, Sofuoglu takes first podium

Bulega initially dropped down at the start of the race and fell behind Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) at the start before re-taking the lead in the opening laps. It had looked like he would pull away from the chasing pack, but it was a charging Sofuoglu (who took the lead on Lap 7 with a move at Turn 1 after a series of fast laps to close the gap. The pair switched positions which allowed the chasing group, led by Marcel Schroetter, to close the gap.

Schroetter pulled away from teammate Sofuoglu and Manzi as the pair fought hard for the podium with the pair side by side for almost the entire final lap with the fight for third decided right at the end of the race. Despite Schroetter closing the gap to Bulega he was unable to make the move for victory as he finished six tenths down on Bulega. Sofuoglu had taken third place on the run to the line, with the pair elbow to elbow trying to finish on the podium, but Manzi was given a three-second time penalty, in lieu of a Long Lap Penalty for taking a shortcut and not losing sufficient time, which dropped him to sixth place.

Bulega’s victory was his fifth in WorldSSP and his third consecutive victory following on from his double at Assen while it also gave Ducati their tenth win in the Championship, putting them level with Suzuki and MV Agusta. Schroetter claimed his second podium of the season and in WorldSSP, while Sofuoglu became the 102^nd rider to finish on the podium in the Championship, and he puts Turkey on the verge of 100 podiums with the country not on 99.

DRAMA THROUGHOUT: Manzi finishes sixth after fierce podium fight

Manzi’s penalty promoted to Dutch rider Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) into fourth place as he finished around fifth seconds down on the race winner and a second behind Sofuoglu at the end of the race, with Caricasulo eventually recovering to take fifth place despite losing time and positions in the early stages of the race. Manzi’s three-second penalty demoted him to sixth place, two seconds ahead of teammate Jorge Navarro in seventh place.

A TOP TEN FINISH: strong rides throughout the field

French rider Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) had been running in the led group, including chasing Bulega for victory in the early stages, before dropping down to eighth place. He was only six tenths down on Navarro ahead of him, while he was three seconds clear of Nicholas Spinelli (VFT Racing WEBIKE Yamaha) in ninth place, some three seconds down on Debise ahead. Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) took tenth place to round out the top ten, with Tuuli missing out on ninth spot by just three tenths.

TAKING HOME POINTS: finishing in the top 15

Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) got a superb launch off the line to move into the top three but he dropped down the order shortly after, before he dropped further when he took the first of his two Long Lap Penalties for a collision with Can Oncu last time out at Assen. After he took his second Long Lap Penalty, he dropped into the second group and was unable to recover beyond 11^th place. He finished ahead of Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) in 12^th and Tom Booth-Amos (Motozoo ME Air Racing) in 13^th; Booth-Amos finished as the lead WorldSSP Challenge rider. Tom Edwards (Yart-Yamaha WorldSSP Team) was 14^th despite starting fourth after he tumbled down the order on the last lap, ahead of Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) who took the final point in Race 1.

Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), returning to WorldSSP as a replacement rider for Oncu, just missing out on points with 16^th place and he finished three seconds clear of Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing) in 17^th. The Australian had been in the top ten in the first half of the stages but fell down the order to finish ahead of wildcard Adrian Fernandez (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) in 18^th, John McPhee (Vince64 by Puccetti Racing) in 19^th and Andrea Mantovani (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) who rounded out the top 20.

HOUSEKEEPING: to note from WorldSSP Race 1

Maximilian Kofler (D34G Racing) brought his bike into the pits after he had a crash at Turn 10 on Lap 3 and retired from the race, while Baris Sahin (MDR Offitec Yamaha) also brought his machine into the pits in the early stages of the race. Maiki Abe (VFT Racing WEBIKE Yamaha) retired from the race on Lap 8 when he suffered a technical issue on his bike. Apiwath Wongthananon (Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) retired from the race after a late crash, while Adam Norrodin (PETRONAS MIE HONDA Team) retired with a late technical issue.

The top six following WorldSSP Race 1, full results here:

1 Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team)

2. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.626s

3. Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +3.996s

4. Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) +4.991s

5. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) +5.467s

6. Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +7.002s

Watch more WorldSSP action from Barcelona on Sunday using the WorldSBK VideoPass!