DEFINING STORIES, ROUND 4: Bulega fights back with Cremona hat-trick
After the disappointment of Assen, Bulega needed to respond on home soil, and he duly did so with a stunning hat-trick
After its impressive first round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, the Cremona Circuit returned for the 2025 season with an earlier date. Pack grandstands awaited the riders once again, and all eyes were on Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) to see whether he could repeat his 2024 heroics. However, it was a different Italian, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), who stole the headlines after he bounced back from his Assen nightmare in style.
BULEGA TAKES HOME HAT-TRICK: the best way to respond
Bulega headed into his first home round knowing he had the advantage over Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), with ‘El Turco’ not racing at Cremona in 2024 due to injury. ‘Bulegas’ started the competitive action with pole position ahead of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Razgatlioglu, and he would go on to claim a hat-trick at a circuit he would later describe as ‘his worst’.
RAZGATLIOGLU LIMITS THE DAMAGE: three P2s for ‘El Turco’
Reigning Champion Razgatlioglu was on the backfoot heading into the Italian Round having missed last year’s race through injury, with his only experience of the Cremona Circuit in testing. However, the #1 has proved he’s very quick to adapt and he was able to limit the damage in the title fight by coming home directly behind Bulega, losing only 12 points to his rival – the gap was out to 34 points in Bulega’s favour.
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