PERFECTION AT HOME: Bulega claims trio of race wins at Cremona
Bulega earns his third win of the weekend as he wins Cremona Race 2 comfortably
The 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship grid closes the book on Round 4 action at the Cremona Circuit, similar to in Race 1, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) fought with Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in the early laps. ‘El Turco’ overtook Bulega early on, leading the race for four laps until Bulega struck back on Lap 4 during Race 2 at the Acerbis Italian Round to reinstate himself in P1. He would go on to claim the race win, making it a home hat-trick for ‘Bulegas’. Razgatlioglu did well to mitigate the point gain by Bulega through his P2 finish, and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) was again the fastest of the rest, claiming his ninth podium of the year.
BULEGA AMONG DUCATI’S BEST NOW WITH CREMONA HAT-TRICK: ties Frankie Chilli and Giancarlo Falappa in race wins for Ducati
Bulega made it a trio of race wins from Cremona, tying Giancarlo Falappa and Frankie Chilli for most race wins from an Italian riding for Ducati and his 34th career podium. He had troubles with Razgatlioglu early on, until reestablishing control and lap after lap adding to his lead. Razgatlioglu earned his 150th WorldSBK podium with his P2, following Bulega across the finish line 1.826s later. Bautista earned a third P3 place on the weekend, and in Race 2 he became the Spaniard with the most WorldSBK starts with 216, moving ahead of Ruben Xaus.
Another race, another celebration for @nbulega #ItalianWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/Ie22daaKi3
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) May 4, 2025
STRONGEST RESULT OF THE WEEKEND FOR ‘PETRUX’ – P4 for last year’s hat trick hero
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) started in P6, climbing up to a P4 finish and crossing the finish line a distant 4.243s ahead of the rest of the grid. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) made a late run forward in the final laps of the race, overtaking both Honda factory riders to claim P5 despite still struggling with the flu. Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) led the Honda factory pair across the finish line in P5, just 0.202s behind Sam Lowes, and 0.617s ahead of his teammate Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) in P7.
@petrux9 is now in P4 after overtaking @XaviVierge
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) May 4, 2025
#97 remains close though#ItalianWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/K5hsYErfLX
LOCATELLI TOP YAMAHA: P8 at his home round
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) jumped up to an early P5 in the first laps of the race, from there however the Italian rider slowly slid down the order after overtakes from Petrucci, Vierge and Lowes to finish P8. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) again duelled with Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) between Laps 12 and 13, securing P9 from him, where he went on to finish the race. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished in P10, less than two tenths of a second ahead of Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) who finished P11. Lowes climbed up five positions after starting all the way back in P16; similarly, American rider Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) gained six positions throughout the course of the race to finish P12 after starting out in P18. Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) Andrea Iannone, and Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) rounded out the point-scoring positions.
AEGERTER RECOVERS FROM CRASH: P19 for the Swiss rider
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) claimed top rookie in Race 2, earning P16 ahead of fellow rookie Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) just 0.384s behind him in P17. Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) continues to reacquaint himself with his Yamaha R1 setup, finishing Race 2 in P18. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) recovered from his crash at Turn 8 of Lap 7 to finish the race in P19, ahead of Zaqhwan Zaidi (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) in P20.
CREMONA CRASHOUTS: Race 2’s unlucky retirees
Wildcard rider Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax Racing) had to return to the garage early on Lap 2, retiring for the second time this weekend. Rookie British rider Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) crashed on Turn 2 of Lap 3, ending his weekend at Cremona. Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) crashed at Turn 8 of Lap 7, followed into the garage a lap later by Tito Rabat (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) with a tech issue.
The top six from the WorldWCR Race 2: Full results here!
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +1.826s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +8.995s
4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +17.888s
5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +22.131s
6. Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) +22.333s
Fastest lap: Nicolo Bulega (Ducati) – 1’28.576s
Championship standings
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 198 points
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 164
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 125
4. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 118
5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 107
6. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) 73
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