Nicolo Bulega continued his perfect start to the season by claiming pole position in the morning and then winning the opening race of the weekend at Motorland Aragon. The Ducati star led his Aruba.it Racing – Ducati teammate, Iker Lecuona, home for a thirteenth consecutive one-two finish for the Italian squad.
Race 1 Highlights
- Bulega and Lecuona led the field for the duration of the 18 laps. The margin between the Ducati duo ebbed and flowed and at the conclusion it was just 1.2s.
- Starting from the front row of the grid Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) made a slow start and dropped behind Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team). The brothers battled for a lap before Sam came through on the brakes at Turn 1 and then he opened a margin to the fourth place man. Alex Lowes would spend the duration of the race managing the gap to the battle behind.
- Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) qualified a career best eighth but made a fast start to jump into fifth position at the start. The former British champion spent the race one position ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team Goeleven) but the margin was always closing in the second half of proceedings. A gap that stretched out to 1.5s at one third distance was reduced to next to nothing in the closing laps as Baldassarri piled on the pressure. Bridewell refused to yield and held on for the first top five finish of his WorldSBK career.
- Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) finished in seventh position ahead of a race long duel between Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team). Little more than half a second separated them at the end of the race with Gerloff applying constant pressure to Bassani throughout the race.
- Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) was an early retirement after a technical issue. The double WorldSBK champion was racing through the pain barrier having fractured his ankle at the previous round. He was joined on the sidelines by Hannes Sommer (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) who both crashed at Turn 14.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
"Today was another great race so I’m really happy. We tried a few different details on the bike today and we made a step forward during qualifying. My plan during the opening laps was to build a gap and then I wanted to save the rear tyre a little more for the final laps. When I saw the gap increasing I thought it was the right moment to stay calm and manage the tyre. I felt very good throughout the race and I was able to ride smoothly with my natural riding style and I was really happy with the bike and with how everything was working."
P2 – Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
"At the beginning Nicolo was very fast, as we expected, but I almost crashed a few times on the new tyre. When the tyres started to wear I felt a bit better and I was able to recover almost one second to Nicolo. I was overriding the bike and using all my energy. It was difficult because the track was very tricky in those hot conditions but I’m quite satisfied. To have another second place is a good result and we are quite close to Nicolo. We still need a little bit more in the race but I’m really happy with the performance."
P3 – Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team)
"I knew coming here that I could be strong. We had a good test in Misano and I’m happy with my lap in qualifying but I made a small mistake in the last sector because otherwise I think it could have been a little bit better. The first seven or eight laps of the race were good and I had a strong pace but the two guys in front were just a little bit stronger. In those conditions, I was really at the limit with the front. I’m happy that I managed the race well and that gives me some confidence going into tomorrow. I think we can make a small step with the bike and improve for tomorrow.”
Race 1 Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +1.274s
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +8.078s
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +16.177s
5. Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) +18.619s
6. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) +18.684s
Fastest lap: Nicolo Bulega (Ducati), 1'48.681s
Full Results
First career victory for Zaccone
- Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) started from pole position and led all but one lap of the 15 lap duration. Unfortunately for the championship leader it was the all-important final lap that Alessandro Zaccone (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) came past him. Three lead changes on the final lap meant that it was only on the run to chequered flag that the race was settled in Zaccone’s favour by just 0.174s.
- Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) joined them on the podium. The British rider enjoyed a race long battle with Roberto Garcia (GMT94 Yamaha) but as the leaders fought on the final lap Booth-Amos started to edge himself closer. He finished within a second of Zaccone and also netted pole position for Race 2 courtesy of his fastest lap of the race.
- Championship challenger Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Evan Bros Factory) started from the front row of the grid but struggled throughout the race and dropped to eighth position at the flag. Can Oncu, another title contender for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing, was left with a lot of work to do during the course of the race following a back of the grid penalty for a yellow flag infringement during the morning warm-up session. The Turkish rider finished the race in twelfth.
P1 – Alessandro Zaccone (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team)
"I’ve always enjoyed this track and I’ve usually been quick here. The bike has been working really well all weekend. I wanted to manage the race carefully because I expected a significant drop in tyre performance and after ten laps I was already close to the limit with the front tyre. On the final lap, I tried to stay as close as possible to Albert and I passed him in the first sector to try to slow him down a little and avoid losing any gap. He overtook me again shortly afterwards and in the end, I was able to use the strengths in the final sector and make the difference there."
Race 1 Results
1. Alessandro Zaccone (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team)
2. Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) +0.174s
3. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +0.969s
4. Roberto García (GMT94 Yamaha) +2.570s
5. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) +4.733s
6. Aldi Mahendra (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) +4.786s
Fastest Lap: Tom Booth-Amos (Triumph) - 1'53.048s
- The opening race of the weekend for the Sportbike class was red flagged following a Turn 4 crash for Taiyo Aksu (PATA AG Motorsport Italia). When the race restarted it was David Salvador who started from pole position and the Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI rider converted into an early lead.
- On Lap 2 Matteo Vannucci (Revo-M2) came through and led until the start of the final lap when he was attacked at Turn 1 by Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki). Artigas battled with Salvador for the remainder of the lap with Salvador moving into the lead by using the slipstream to attack on the back straight leading into the fast Turn 16. With Salvador back in the lead and Artigas in second position Fenton Seabright (PHR Performance Triumph) tried to carry the corner speed and take the wide line to attack. Ultimately, the British rider was overtaken by his rivals and had to settle for his first rostrum finish of the season.
- Carter Thompson (Team BrCorse) will start from pole position for Race 2 courtesy of his fastest lap. He’ll be joined by Vannucci and Elia Bartolini (CM Triumph Factory Racing) on the front row. Race winner Salvador will start from the tenth on the grid.
P1 – David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI)
"The race was really difficult because of the red flag. I tried to push hard in the first race but the Aprilia was very strong on the back straight and could come back to me. I felt good all around the circuit but they were able to catch me and overtake me in that section. I felt fast in the corners so I just tried to do my own pace and, in the end, I took my first victory of the season. I’m very happy."
Race 1 Results
1. David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI)
2. Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki) +0.046s
3. Fenton Seabright (PHR Performance Triumph) +0.061s
4. Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) +0.087s
5. Matteo Vannucci (Revo-M2) +0.116s
6. Carter Thompson (Team BrCorse) +0.254s
Fastest Lap: Carter Thompson (Yamaha) 1'59.657s