The Italian Round began with a Ducati podium lock-out, but it was Iker Lecuona who led the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati one-two with a dominant lights-to-flag victory at Cremona.
Starting from pole position for the first time this season, the Spaniard made the perfect launch to claim the holeshot and never looked back.
Race 1 Highlights
Lecuona led every lap of the 23-lap race, opening a gap of almost one second over teammate Nicolo Bulega on the opening tour before steadily extending his advantage.
By the chequered flag, Lecuona had built a lead of more than five seconds and completed a perfect day by setting the fastest lap of the race.
Having crashed twice during Saturday’s action, Bulega was unable to challenge his teammate for victory but delivered a controlled ride to finish second.
The championship leader was beaten for only the second time this season and spent the entire race in runner-up position, maintaining a comfortable advantage over the chasing pack.
With a 141 points lead over Lecuona, Bulega’s first Superbike World Championship should be secured tomorrow.
Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) started from the front row and looked comfortable inside the podium positions during the opening third of the race before crashing at Turn 7.
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) endured further misfortune after two crashes, bringing his total to four incidents across a difficult weekend.
The problems for the leading Italian riders opened the door for Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) to battle for the final podium position.
Lowes ultimately held his pace to secure third, claiming his ninth podium finish of the season.
Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) completed a strong race to finish fifth, his best result in four rounds. Starting eighth, the American spent the race locked in a battle with Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), with the position ultimately decided on the final lap.
P1 – Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“We changed the bike for the afternoon and we found something extra. I felt very, very strong and very comfortable. It’s the best bike I’ve ridden in WorldSBK. I didn’t make the best start, it was actually one of the worst starts I’ve had this year, but I could still lead. Step by step I improved by one tenth and then another but I lost a little bit on the front as the tyre dropped in the middle of the race. I did a really good job with the riding and I’m very happy. I’m enjoying riding here a lot.”
P2 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“I knew that Iker was very strong today. It was risky to push hard to try and stay with him. It was very important to finish the race today. Second place is good because a lot of my supporters are here today and I want to close the championship here. After yesterday, I lost some confidence because I crashed and I didn’t know why I had crashed yesterday until this morning. When you lose the feeling like this and you don’t know why you crashed it’s better to reset and ride at 90%, and then improve step by step. Maybe tomorrow I can go 95% and keep improving for the races”
P3 – Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team)
“I ran at the pace that I have had the whole weekend. Maybe it was a couple of tenth better during the final six laps compared to yesterday but I didn´t feel comfortable at the begining of the raceWhen the grip dropped my pace was good, I could do my best lap at the end of the race. Overall, I’m happy with my lap in the Superpole and the job we did in the race. We’ll keep working, keep improving and I think we can make a step for tomorrow.”
Race 1 Results
1. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +5.591s
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +7.247s
4. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) +8.763s
5. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) +20.250s
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +20.567s
Superpole Highlights
Iker Lecuona broke the Cremona Circuit lap record to claim his first Tissot Superpole success with Ducati. The Spaniard’s best lap was six tenths of a second faster than last year’s pole position time, underlining the pace of the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Panigale V4 R.
For the first time in his WorldSBK career, Nicolo Bulega was outqualified by his teammate. The championship leader finished just 0.044 seconds behind Lecuona, ending his run of ten consecutive Superpole successes and missing out on pole position for the first time this season.
1. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’27.253s
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.044s
3. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) +0.184s
How can Bulega secure the title?
Nicolo Bulega wins the title in the Tissot Superpole Race if he outscores Iker Lecuona by 8 points.
Nicolo Bulega wins the title in the Race 2 as long as he loses 17 points or fewer to Lecuona over both races.
