Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) made it 17 consecutive MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship wins with Race 1 victory at the Autodrom Most – but it was the most difficult win of this season so far, after engaging in an unmissable battle with teammate Iker Lecuona as they scrapped it out for victory in the latter stages of the race in the Czech Round. The rostrum was completed by Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team).

EARLY RED FLAG

At the start, Bulega converted his pole position into P1 through Turn 1 ahead of Montella and Lecuona, while Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) moved up to an early P4. The race was red flagged after a big crash for Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) at Turn 13 on the opening lap, with the red flags shown at the start of Lap 2. The #9 was taken to the medical centre following the incident and diagnosed with lower back and left hip contusions, plus bruising to the first, fourth and fifth fingers on his left hand and a pelvic injury. He was taken to hospital for further assessments. The race was restarted over a 21-lap distance, with the grid based on the original starting positions.

AN EPIC BATTLE FOR FIRST

It was a similar story for Bulega when the lights went out as he maintained P1 through the opening lap, with Montella and Lecuona settling in for P2 and P3 while Surra again jumped into fourth. The #5 was able to keep the #7 at bay over the first few laps, but Lecuona made his move at the start of Lap 4 at Turn 1 to move into second place. Lecuona wasted no time in closing down his teammate, bringing the gap down to just a couple of tenths by Lap 7. Nothing could separate the Ducati duo throughout the race, and on Lap 14, Bulega ran wide into Turn 1, but he was just able to hold Lecuona off. A lap later, the #7 made his move for P1 under braking, and held position despite running wide through the opening corner of the lap. On Lap 18, the battle ignited once again, as Bulega tried to make a move but was unable to do so, but he got ahead at Turn 1 at the start of Lap 19. That move proved to be decisive as Bulega extended his winning run to 17 races, and his 33^rd win overall, putting him level with Troy Corser. Lecuona made it 10 consecutive P2 finishes. Montella came home in a relatively lonely P3, finishing ten seconds behind Lecuona and three seconds clear of Gerloff.

A CLASH AND A BEST RESULT SINCE 2024

The fight for fourth was igniting between Surra, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) but that came to a head on Lap 4. Sam Lowes made his move for P4 on the #67 at Turn 15 and Surra fought back through Turn 16, with the #14 crashing out. The incident was placed under investigation by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards, with Surra given a Long Lap Penalty. Shortly after, Gerloff made his move for P4, passing Surra at Turn 20 as he claimed his best result for Kawasaki – and his first top four finish since he was on the podium at Aragon in 2024 for BMW. He had to resist Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) but ‘El Bocia’ finished in fifth with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) completing the top six.

COMPLETING THE TOP TEN

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) battled his way up the order from 14th on the grid to finish in seventh, with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) finishing as the lead Yamaha in eighth place. Surra was classified in ninth after taking his Long Lap Penalty, with Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finishing inside the top ten.

SCORING POINTS IN RACE 1

Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) finished less than a second away from Manzi as he came home in P11, while Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was 12th. The #97 finished just 0.029s from Mackenzie after they scrapped it out, while Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) was also involved in that battle. The #46 finished just 0.009s behind Vierge. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) scored points on his WorldSBK return with 14th, after starting from 20th, with Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) just 0.006s behind the Dutchman. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Motoxracing WorldSBK Team), Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) and Mattia Rato (Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) were the final classified riders, with Yuki Kunii (Honda HRC) and Sam Lowes listed as retirements.

The top six from WorldSBK Race 1, full results here:

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +1.330s
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +11.222s
4. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) +14.094s
5. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +14.568s
6. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) +15.168s
Fastest lap: Iker Lecuona (Ducati), 1'30.562s

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