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Tag: Ducati

  • WorldSBK: Lecuona looms but Bulega still on top at Most

    WorldSBK: Lecuona looms but Bulega still on top at Most

    The 2026 Czech Round at Autodrom Most saw Nicolo Bulega under serious pressure from his ever-improving teammate Iker Lecuona while Yari Montella finally secured the podium finishes he had crashed out of more than once already this season, but the ultimate outcome up front was all too familiar…

    Race 1

    The race was immediately red-flagged on lap one when Danilo Petrucci crashed at turn 13 and the BMW rider needed stretchered out of the gravel trap.  With Miguel Oliveria already absent and Michael van der Mark back to replace him this weekend, BMW may need not one but two replacement riders for the next round in just two weeks time, with Petrucci ruled out of Sunday’s action in the Czech Republic… just like Alvaro Bautista who crashed at the same place earlier in the weekend.

    On the restart, Alberto Surra and Sam Lowes provided the entertainment for the first few laps before they came together at turn 15.  Surra was docked with a long-lap penalty which spoiled another impressive run in his debut season while a livid Sam Lowes was knocked out of the race and the podium hunt.

    Profiting from the incident were a rejuvenated Garrett Gerloff with his best WorldSBK result in a long time with fourth for Kawasaki.  Axel Bassani was fifth and his teammate Alex Lowes put on a charge after a poor qualifying to rise to seventh a long way behind Lorenzo Baldassari but prevailing over Andrea Locatelli and the penalised Surra.

    Montella stayed on the bike – unlike in previous rounds where he was running well – and was rewarded with a podium that should have come much earlier in the season.  Up front having unsurprisingly dispatched Montella for second, Lecuona was promisingly keeping Bulega honest as the race progressed.

    Unlike in the first race at Assen where he pounced on Bulega’s mistake when the rain failed, this time around Lecuona caught and passed Bulega with no external factors.  With eight laps still to go Lecuona was right on the back wheel of his teammate and next time around got past at the turn one/two sequence.

    Lecuona then had to perform some block passes over the thrilling final laps of the race, but Bulega ultimately retook and held the lead in time to stretch a one-second gap on the last lap.  Finally the Italian has a genuine competitor in 2026 but importantly Bulega still has the upper hand and his unprecedented winning streak continues.

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Tissot Superpole Race

    Bulega immediately went wide at turn one which allowed Lecuona into the lead and set up a fight for the win… which lasted for half a lap.  Once Bulega struck back he was able to repel his teammate for another victory and guarantee pole for the afternoon race.

    Also at the start, Sam Lowes crashed out while Axel Bassani and Locatelli had to take to the escape road and bypass the first two turns.  Montella settled in third and Gerloff ran as high as fourth before slipping back behind Baldassari (who nearly made it to the podium) and Surra.

    Bahattin Soguoglu’s engine blew up at halfway but thankfully the race was not affected.  The three BSB champions came rounded out the top nine that sets the grid for the full-distance afternoon race while Bulega came home two seconds clear out front.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Race 2

    For almost the first half of the race, there were six Ducati’s in the top six.  The order at the front was once again Bulega, Lecuona, Montella and Baldassari – the latter coming close to the podium again and who broke free from one of the most interesting battles of the season so far behind him.

    Gerloff and Surra spent the majority of the race locked in a thrilling duel for fifth.  They came together twice before Gerloff finally won out, with their battles allowing the Bimota duo to close in once they had dispatched of Tarran Mackenzie.

    Mackenzie slid out with a small error with seven laps to go, as Locatelli and Bridewell fought all the way to the line over ninth.  Sam Lowes slowly made progress from his poor grid position but spent most of his time battling the struggling Yamaha’s.

    As in Saturday’s race the fight for the lead was closely contested by the factory Ducati duo.  Although this was the closest Lecuona (or anyone) has come to beating Bulega this year, the Italian demonstrated he still has the upper hand and sealed a narrow victory.

    With the rumours of a MotoGP switch for 2027 intensifying and both Montella and Surra putting on an audition to replace him, the Superbike World Championship finally enjoyed a competitive weekend of racing at the sharp end in 2026. Ultimately however, the end result was all too familiar as Bulega took another record-extending treble victory.

    Race 2 Results

    Championship Standings

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Records tumble as Bulega blitzes Balaton Park

    WorldSBK: Records tumble as Bulega blitzes Balaton Park

    Nicolo Bulega has now won a record 16 consecutive WorldSBK races as Balaton Park again claimed several victims across the weekend of the Motul Hungarian Round.

    Race 1

    Bulega got the holeshot ahead of a flying Alberto Surra and Yari Montella.  Sam Lowes was hit with a double long-lap penalty for a jump start while Miguel Oliveira and Andrea Locatelli sneaked ahead of Iker Lecuona.

    Lorenzo Baldassari suffered a huge crash at the same corner Alvaro Bautista went off at last year but thankfully he was unhurt and the race continued.  The next focus after the start was on the inevitable charge of Lecuona.

    It took until lap six for Lecuona to get into runner-up spot.  Such was his pace that some speculated if he could have won the race with a better starting position, although it is difficult to say whether Bulega was simply managing the gap en route to his record-breaking 14th straight WorldSBK victory as the gap started to noticeably come down as the laps progressed.

    The fight for third however was thrilling.  It was great to watch Surra fighting up front but it never lasted long despite his best efforts and some wild defensive manouevers.

    Oliveria prevailed after a great three-way fight with Surra and Montella.  Surra would also fall behind Bautista, Alex Lowes and Andrea Locatelli by race end.  There was another thrilling race-long fight around the bottom of the top-ten like there normally is in WorldSBK with Xavi Vierge being the roadblock in ninth with four of his rivals finishing within 1.3 seconds of him.

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Tissot Superpole Race

    Bulega was forced wide by Montella misjudging his braking into turn one.  Baldassari shuffled through to the lead ahead of Lecuona while Locatelli and Oliveria contested third.

    Halfway around the first lap Locatelli and Oliveria crashed into each other causing a red flag as they narrowly avoided being hit by the rest of the field.  This saved Bulega as the race was reset to the original starting grid for the restarted eight-lap affair.

    Bulega got away clear this time around as Baldassari bashed Montella to let Lecuona through for second at turn two. Bautista slotted into fourth as well and he defended the rest of the race from Montella and Surra.

    Sam Lowes had a strange temporary issue while his brother rode to a comfortable seventh.  Garrett Gerloff and Tarran Mackenzie rounded out the top-nine to set the grid for race two and with Lecuona going to start on the front row, hopes were high that Bulega could be challenged in the afternoon.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Race 2

    The two factory Ducati’s escaped from the satellite riders behind at the start.  Baldassari’s eventful weekend continued when he ran the two of them wide allowing Montella into third.

    Locatelli crashed out on lap three while Bautista started to fall down the order after his incident with Baldassari.  Axel Bassani, Tommy Bridewell and Alex Lowes also retired in the opening stages with the latter almost running into the back of Mackenzie which caused his crash.

    Baldassari slowly started to close on Montella for the podium having escaped punishement.  Behind them Gerloff did well to pass Surra for fifth with Sam Lowes later deposing the young Italian for sixth.

    Mackenzie finished a comfortable eighth ahead of the two GRT Yamaha teammates with Bautista a lowly 11th ahead of the similarly disappointed Vierge.  Both factory BMW riders were withdrawn due to injuries suffered earlier, while Bulega lead Lecuona home for yet another treble of race wins in 2026.

    Race 2 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Championship Standings

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Bulega continues crushing form around Assen

    WorldSBK: Bulega continues crushing form around Assen

    Despite the best efforts of Iker Lecuona and Sam Lowes – as well as some rain in Race 1 – Nicolo Bulega continued his winning ways in World Superbikes at the 2026 Pirelli Dutch Round.

    Race 1

    Bulega was beaten to the first corner not by Sam Lowes from 2nd but his teammate Lecuona starting in 3rd.  This move set the tone for the race as Lecuona did everything in his power to disrupt Bulega’s winning run.

    The start also saw Tommy Bridewell pushed out wide by Lorenzo Baldassari and Danilo Petrucci jump-starting and being hit with a double long-lap penalty.  On the first of these he misjudged his breaking and ended up running through the gravel effectively ending his race.

    Bulega caught Lecuona lacking near the end of the second lap, after which things settled down.  Sam Lowes was able to keep the aruba.it Ducati’s in his sights while Alvaro Bautista and Alex Lowes consolidated fourth and fifth places.

    Just after the halfway point, rain started to fall but not by enough to force the riders to change bikes or race direction to stop proceedings.  The rain caught out Bulega and at the final chicane he made a mistake, kickstarting a six-lap showdown with Lecuona watched closely by Sam Lowes behind.

    The two factory Ducati riders swapped places three times in three laps, before with three laps to go Bulega finally sealed the deal to retake and stretch his lead in the closing laps.  Sam Lowes had to settle for third while Tarran Mackenzie sadly dropped back a couple of places having run as high as sixth while Andrea Locatelli and Miguel Oliveria capitalised.

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    Tissot Superpole Race

    Xavi Vierge was the biggest mover at the start of Sunday morning’s 10-lap affair while Alex Lowes went the other way.  The top three held positions throughout the race as Bulega made it 12 race wins in a row.

    Alex Lowes had work to do after his poor start and he recovered for a thrilling fight for fourth with Bautista in the closing laps.  Vierge fell back behind those two into sixth, but his teammate initially running in seventh would be the source of lots of action in the lower top-10 positions.

    Locatelli fell backwards allowing Petrucci to capitalise as Baldassari, Remy Gardner and Yari Montella all had stints inside the crucial top nine positions which set the grid for Race 2.  After being penalised on the last lap, Locatelli had to cede ninth to Gardner but got back past in the nick of time.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    Race 2

    Still chasing his maiden WorldSBK victory, Sam Lowes got off to a flier in Race 2.  However, after just three of the 21 laps around Assen the dream was over as the factory Ducati duo bullied him back into third.

    Lecuona lead for around half a lap after passing the satellite Ducati rider before Bulega then passed him and rode off into a controlled victory by three seconds.  Meanwhile, Bautista and Alex Lowes continued their battling for fourth as Vierge started to get swallowed up by the horde of Ducati’s in the top-10.

    The next non-Ducati’s were 2025 Assen winner Locatelli and Petrucci as the other BMW of Oliveria made a mistake at the final chicane that dropped him as low as 14th at one stage.  A disgruntled Alex Lowes fell back and fought with Mackenzie for 10th while Oliveira finished only 11th after his Portimao podiums.

    Unusually for WorldSBK, all the riders finished the race under overcast conditions in Assen.  Ultimately though, no one could tame Bulega who romped to a Razgatlioglu-equalling 13 race wins on the trot.

    Race 2 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Championship Standings

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

     

     

  • WorldSBK: Bulega starts 2026 with Phillip Island sweep

    WorldSBK: Bulega starts 2026 with Phillip Island sweep

    The 2026 season of the Superbike World Championship kicked off down under at the Phillip Island Circuit with the Australian Round.  In the absence of Toprak Razgatlioglu, there was already a clear pre-season title favourite…

     

    Race 1

    From pole position, all Nicolo Bulega had to do after dominating the weekend so far was make it through the first lap unscathed.  He did just that and won comfortably by 5 seconds.

    Similarly unbothered in Race 1 was Yari Montella who claimed his first front-row start and ran comfortably to his best finish in 2nd place.  His new teammate Alvaro Bautista was not so fortunate, becoming the first rider of 2026 to crash out of a race in the early stages.

    Lorenzo Baldassari made a remarkable return to WorldSBK, forcing his way through to 3rd and just holding on to it ahead of Axel Bassani in a thrilling sprint to the finish line.  The two other podium contenders were the Lowes’ brothers, but Alex fell back in the closing stages to 7th behind his brother in 5th and a charging Iker Lecuona in 6th.

    Running in 8th and by far the best Yamaha rider on his debut for the marque was Xavi Vierge who was sent to the medical centre after a terrifying crash at Stoner corner that strew gravel across the track just before Miller hairpin.  Garrett Gerloff slipped up on the debris shortly after and reignited an intense battle for the lower top 10 positions.

    Gerloff had been battling impressive rookie Alberto Surra with the pair running ahead of a rejuvenated Tarran Mackenzie.  ‘Taz’ had enough pace to hold up Danilo Petrucci for several laps before Miguel Oliveria came through from the back of the grid (after a crash in Tissot Superpole) to clinch 8th at the flag.

    Mackenzie slipped to 12th but was ahead of a despondent Andrea Locatelli – the top Yamaha finisher in 13th and ahead of the two stand-in Honda HRC riders rounding out the points.  Despite the promise shown by Montella, Baldassari, Bassani and Oliveria, nothing could dispel the fact that Bulega was looking unbeatable after the opening race of 2026.

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    Tissot Superpole Race

    For the first time ever, Montella led a WorldSBK race after snatching the lead at the start.  Alex led his brother Sam with Bulega relegated to 4th, and his teammate Lecuona was also forced out wide at the beginning, while Vierge sadly never made the start.

    Bulega was back in the lead by lap 4 after some aggressive moves past the top 3 and was unchallenged thereafter.  Montella faded to 4th, with Bassani fighting through to 2nd ahead of his teammate Alex Lowes for a historic double Bimota podium.

    Sam Lowes was 5th ahead of Gerloff and Bautista with Race 1 star Baldassari down in 8th.  The Italian was fortunate to finish there after Oliveira’s phenomenal charge from the back of the grid fell short after suffering technical issues on the last lap so Lecuona took 9th – thus setting the grid for the first 3 rows of Race 2.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    Race 2

    With the white flag being waved midway through the Tissot Superpole Race, rain always looked like a possibility.  The soaking wet affair did nothing to faze Bulega who romped to another victory down under.

    Montella and Bassani broke free of the chasing Lowes’ brothers before Sam went down on lap 8.  Bautista settled in 4th as an impressive Mackenzie was impressively holding off Alex Lowes for 6th.

    Locatelli was having a better Race 2 than his dire Race 1 and was on his own in 7th ahead of a tight battle for 8th between Lecuona and the BMW duo, with Oliveira having come through from the back of the grid for the third race in succession.

    Montella tragically crashed out halfway through by which time Mattia Rato, Ryan Vickers and Vierge had also been eliminated from the wet affair.  Alex Lowes slid out with a fast lowside crash with 4 laps to go so all 15 riders who finished the race scored championship points.

    The retirements left big gaps for Bassani and Bautista to come home comfortably on the rostrum behind Bulega with Mackenzie scoring his best WorldSBK result in 4th, clearly enjoying his time aboard the satellite MGM Ducati.  Locatelli narrowly held off a charging Petrucci for 5th, with Oliveria, Lecuona and Baldassari close behind.

    Gerloff was alone in 10th and not quite as fast as he had been in dry conditions.  Up front, Bulega employed a swimming celebration to symbolise his treble victory around Phillip Island that has absolutely lived up to his reputation as the overwhelming 2026 title favourite.

    Race 2 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    Championship Standings

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu withstands Bulega pressure to seal 2025 WSBK Championship in Jerez

    WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu withstands Bulega pressure to seal 2025 WSBK Championship in Jerez

    A controversial crash in the Tissot Superpole Race in Jerez that led to borderline violent scenes from the Turkish fans coupled with a crushing treble of race wins from Nicolo Bulega was not enough to prevent Toprak Razgatlioglu from wrapping up his third WorldSBK title at the Pirelli Spanish Round.

    Tissot Superpole Race

    All Razgatlioglu had to do to wrap up the championship was finish in the top 7 of the morning’s 10-lap race.  This should not have been difficult and it was fully expected that ‘El Turco’ would seal the deal before the final full-distance race of the year in the afternoon.

    A promising start that left him challenging Bulega on the first lap saw Razgatlioglu pushed wide by Bulega at turn 5 in a similar but more consequential move to the one that occurred at the start of Race 1 yesterday.  Razgatlioglu was unable to rejoin and thankfully his BMW was not too damaged, although there were obvious concerns about reliability for Race 2.

    Razgatlioglu’s exit meant that BMW’s efforts to clinch the Manufacturers’ Championship had taken a serious blow with them being left 19 points down on Ducati with one race to go.  Bulega was immediately placed under investigation and was docked with a single long-lap penalty, but he was so far out front and so fast that his lead was barely compromised.

    Bulega’s dominant win cut the gap to 22 points and although the only way he could win the championship was victory in Race 2 with Razgatlioglu lower than 13th, the anger towards the Ducati rider was palpable as many expected things to have been wrapped up in the morning.  Loud boos and jeers were directed towards Bulega when he arrived in the paddock and there were rumours of the ardent Turkish support getting particularly aggressive towards anyone trying to calm them down.

    Additional security was deployed and social media went mental demanding justice for Razgatlioglu.  The BMW team shielded Razgatlioglu from any press intrusion until after Race 2 as the WorldSBK paddock geared up for its first final race showdown since 2014.

    Well behind Bulega came Alvaro Bautista who dispatched Andrea Iannone for 2nd on lap 4 at turn 6.  The Italian was able to hold on to 3rd place ahead of a squabbling Xavi Vierge and Alex Lowes, the latter running wide on the last lap to cost him 4th place.

    Andrea Locatelli passed an impressive Tarran Mackenzie for 6th place on the penultimate lap while Iker Lecuona and Micheal van der Mark rounded out the crucial top 9 spots that set the grid for Race 2, with Razgatlioglu trapped down in 10th.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Race 2

    Amidst the fallout of the Bulega/Razgatlioglu incident, some hugely unfortunate news broke from the medical centre.  Jonathan Rea crashed out at high speed with Remy Gardner at turn 3 and unlike his accident at turn 4 yesterday, this one left him with an injured knee and he was declared unfit for Race 2.

    Rea was therefore left unable to contest his final WorldSBK race in which Yamaha were running a celebratory livery.  A despondent Rea was caught on camera watching the race with his family from their garage following a huge outpouring of support and appreciation in the paddock towards the Northern Irish 6-time World Champion, who may be seen testing next year in plans that are yet to be revealed.

    Starting in 10th, the only real fear for Razgatlioglu was if his bike broke down or he was caught up in a melee in the midfield.  The Turk methodically made his way up to 3rd place and settled there to win the championship by 13 points as Bulega clinched a treble of race victories.

    Bulega first had to ignore the pressure by the critical fans and even some of his fellow riders, and he lost the initial lead to his teammate Bautista who was obviously determined to repeat Chaz Davies past feat of winning his last race with the aruba.it Ducati team.  Through his strong point of turn 5 that let him set up a move into turn 6, once Bulega was past Bautista it was a done deal and all the focus switched to Razgatlioglu.

    With 12 laps to go Razgatlioglu was already up to 3rd, having dealt with Locatelli, Vierge, Lowes and Iannone who had been battling all weekend in Jerez for positions just below the rostrum.  It was a fairly underwhelming race overall once Razgatlioglu settled into his rhythm and the laps wound down to confirm him as a 3-time WorldSBK Champion ahead of his blockbuster move to MotoGP next season.

    Iannone had slipped back while running in 7th to fend off Mackenzie and Lecuona, who swapped places by the end of the race.  Michael van der Mark was a lowly 13th in his final WorldSBK race as BMW lost out on the Manufacturers’ Championship to Ducati.

    Bautista did more than enough to secure 3rd place overall in the World Championship which arguably should have gone to the Independent Champion Danilo Petrucci, who was ruled out of the last 2 rounds (6 races).  The only retirements from the race were Lukas Tulovic through a crash and Garrett Gerloff brought his underwhelming season with Kawasaki to close by retiring into the pitlane.

    In any other year, Bulega would have been World Championship, but the critical retirement while leading Race 2 in Assen for example when Razgatlioglu was further down the order will be a painful pill to swallow.  As for Razgatlioglu, he heads to MotoGP having left his mark on a championship that will simply never be the same without him, or indeed Jonathan Rea…

     

    Race 2 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    2025 WorldSBK Riders’ Championship Standings

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    2025 WorldSBK Manufacturers’ Championship Standings

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Bulega bounces back on Sunday in Aragon

    WorldSBK: Bulega bounces back on Sunday in Aragon

    Nicolo Bulega bounced back on Sunday at the Tissot Aragon Round to keep the Superbike World Championship battle rolling on into the last two rounds after a pair of hard-fought victories against Toprak Razgatlioglu, whose record-breaking winning streak he has finally ended.

     

    Tissot Superpole Race

    As with Race 1 yesterday, Razgatlioglu established a pattern of passing into turn 15 but Bulega would retaliate through the long final corner of turn 16.  This first occurred at the end of lap 1 then again on laps 2, 4, 5 and 9.

    When both realised they would have to get a little more creative to pass each other, turns 7 and 12 became passing hotspots.  Razgatlioglu preferred the former and Bulega the latter.

    Behind them was Alvaro Bautista who made it into 3rd place but still had Sam Lowes sticking with him.  Dominique Aegerter, Yari Montella and Tito Rabat collided at turn 5 on the opening lap but it was an otherwise clean 10-lap affair.

    The TV direction had no chance to much of the action further down the grid as the titanic battle constantly played out at the front.  With 3 laps to go, Bautista had broken free of Sam Lowes after the Brit made a small mistake and it looked as if the Spaniard could possibly make it a 3-way fight for the win or at least try and take some points off Razgatlioglu to help his teammate.

    The other notable thing to happen on lap 8 was that there was no overtakes between the top 2.  Razgatlioglu was preparing himself for a late lunge and it came at turn 7 on the penultimate lap.

    However, Bulega was back ahead at turn 12 before Razgatlioglu slid through at turn 15 and lost the lead again at the end of the straight going through turn 16.  It was all so predictable but heading onto the last lap through the last two corners but going into the last lap it was all to play for.

    Razgatlioglu surprised Bulega with a move into the corkscrew halfway around the final lap.  The BMW rider held the lead right up until the last corner, when the inevitable happened…

    Bulega slingshot his way underneath his rival and took victory by    to avenge his narrow defeat yesterday and ended Razgatlioglu’s winning streak of 13 races to seal his first victory since back in May at Most.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    Race 2

    The whole grid made it cleanly around the opening corners of Race 2 as Bautista fell down to 5th behind Andrea Iannone and Jonathan Rea.  Then came the inevitable Razgatlioglu pass on Bulega at turn 15 before the Ducati’s retaliation at turn 16.

    Razgatlioglu had to try something different and one lap later bullied his rival out of the way at turn 14 instead of 15, but again Bulega was far superior through the long left of the last corner.  When Razgatlioglu passed into turn 16 himself on lap 3, by the exit of the corner Bulega was immediately back ahead.

    Thankfully for Razgatlioglu he carried enough speed to retake the lead at turn 1 as it became clear that we were once again in for an absolute classic World Superbikes race.  Bulega was back ahead by turn 16 next time around.

    Meanwhile, Bautista had gotten back up to 3rd place and began to slowly reel in the leaders.  Ultimately, he lost too much time to catch Razgatlioglu and try to take some points off him to help his teammate Bulega.

    At the end of lap 7 Razgatliolgu was again briefly ahead through turn 16 but was close enough to scythe through on Bulega at turn 7 on the following lap.  Bulega struck back at turn 12 and held on until turn 1 on lap 10.

    The defining moment of the race sadly did not come right at the end as it had yesterday or in the Tissot Superpole Race.  After a successful move at turn 7 again on lap 11, the next time around at the same corner Razgatlioglu uncharacteristically ran wide to let Bulega through easily.

    That was it as far as the race was concerned and Razgatlioglu had to focus on repelling Bautista behind to bank the points for 2nd place.  Meanwhile, Bahattin Sofuoglu and Zaqhwan Zaidi crashed out further down the order.

    The next most interesting fight to develop was over 4th place.  With 4 laps to go the battle intensified between Iannone, Rea and Sam Lowes but the latter slid out at turn 14 on the penultimate lap.

    Alex Lowes was around 3 seconds further back and trying to keep Andrea Locatelli at bay with Michael van der Mark close behind.  The latter rider on the second BMW crashed out at high speed at turn 16 on the penultimate lap but thankfully was not too badly hurt.

    The late accidents promoted Garrett Gerloff and Ryan Vickers to the points.  Bulega eased to the line 3.2 seconds clear of his title rival with Razgatlioglu just over a second clear of Bautista so that the championship lead comes down from 39 to 36 points with 2 rounds (6 races) to go in 2025.

    Race 2 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: 0.030s separate top 2 in titanic Aragon Race 1 battle

    WorldSBK: 0.030s separate top 2 in titanic Aragon Race 1 battle

    Having never won at this circuit before, Toprak Razgatlioglu extended his winning run to 13 races in the Superbike World Championship after an incredible duel with resurgent polesitter Nicolo Bulega in Race 1 at the Tissot Aragon Round.

    With Bulega starting on pole position with a new lap record and Ducati historically holding the upper hand in Aragon, hopes were high that Razgatlioglu would finally be denied as he steamrolls his way to a third WorldSBK title.  What ensued under the Spanish sunshine was a thrilling battle that lasted the entire length of the race as 2025’s main protagonists chopped and changed positions throughout and were never more than 1 second apart for the entire 18 laps.

    The general pattern was that Bulega would get a much better exit from the long final corner of turn 16 to get close to Razgatlioglu by turn 1, then the latter would be stronger through the middle of the lap.  While the top-2 in the championship did battle, Sam Lowes was in close attendance right behind the pair.

    This pattern first occurred at the end of the 1st and start of the 2nd lap after Razgatlioglu had stolen the lead on lap 1.  Then it happened again at the end of the 2nd lap and the start of the 3rd.  Two laps later and again, Bulega slingshotted into the lead at turn 1 before he ran wide at the tight chicane at turns 14/15 to allow Razgatlioglu back through – then Bulega was ahead again by the next time they reached turn 1.

    By the halfway stage of the race Razgatlioglu had edged ever so slightly clear of Bulega while it looked as if Danilo Petrucci, Alvaro Bautista and Alex Lowes were starting to close up to the top 3.  Ultimately, home hero Bautista crashed out with 6 laps to go from 5th place while Petrucci and Alex Lowes stabilised their respective positions of 4th for the former and an inherited 5th for the latter.

    Behind them, the two Andrea’s were battling over 6th with Iannone passing Locatelli in the 2nd half of the race.  Behind them came Axel Bassani from 23rd on the grid after being penalised earlier, with the Bimota rider making up 15 places and settling into 8th in the closing laps while Jonathan Rea faded after to 13th after his own promising start.

    With 5 laps to go, Bulega began to pick up his pace and stretch a small gap to Sam Lowes.  However, Sam was saving himself for the last couple of laps and closed back in to the top 2 to finish less than 1 second off the winner.

    The MarcVDS rider was so close but just not quite by enough to get involved in the scrap for the lead as Bulega very nearly made it past Razgatlioglu into turn 1 on the final lap.  Once again, a superb ride through the long last corner let the Ducati rider close right up to the BMW as they blasted towards the chequered flag and were separated by just 0.030s in Razgatlioglu’s favour.

    The win meant a lot to Razgatlioglu and was devastating for Bulega after such a defiant ride.  Not only was it the Turk’s first win at Aragon but it matched his record of 13 consecutive wins from last season and was of course another hammer blow in the championship for his Italian rival – but tomorrow’s pair of races should hopefully be another close fought affair with the BMW and Ducati neck-and-neck.

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu wins Balaton Park opener marred by early pile-up

    WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu wins Balaton Park opener marred by early pile-up

    Toprak Razgatlioglu extended his lead in the championship with a win from pole at the inaugural WorldSBK race at Balaton Park in Hungary that required a restart after 1/3 of the field went down together at turn 2 on the opening lap.

    The maiden race at the techincal anti-clockwise circuit in Balaton – which will play host to the 1000th Superbike World Championship race tomorrow – led to a concertina effect through the first 2 corners on the opening lap.  Andrea Iannone made a mistake that took himself and six – and nearly seven – others into the gravel trap at turn 2.

    Iannone was slapped a double long-lap penalty for triggering the pile-up in what is far from his first such punishment this year.  The Italian’s mistake led to a violent chain reaction that took out Garrett Gerloff, Remy Gardner, Iker Lecuona, Ryan Vickers and the Barni Ducati teammates Danilo Petrucci and Yari Montella.

    Amazingly, all bar 3 riders took the restarted 20-lap race but 3 have been declared unfit for action in tomorrow’s pair of races. Gardner, Lecuona and Vickers missed the restart and although the latter is fit to ride again, Gerloff has been grounded after a valiant effort under duress that saw him salvage 9th.

    On the thankfully clean restart Razgatlioglu was challenged by Andrea Locatelli but the BMW rider quickly cemented his lead.  Locatelli had stolen the lead on the original start but in the 2nd running was immediately pressured by Sam Lowes.

    Having qualified off the front-row of the grid for the 1st time this year and after losing the championship lead to Razgatlioglu last time out in Donington Park, Nicolo Bulega had his work cut out but swiftly made his way forwards.  As has happened before this year, by the time Bulega cemented 2nd place, his title rival was several seconds clear and the Ducati frontman had to bank the points for runner-up spot.

    The Ducati that arguably could have finished 2nd was Sam Lowes.  The MarcVDS rider had passed Locatelli for 2nd after 5 laps but promptly lost the front-end at turn 2 just as he began to lap slightly quicker than Razgatlioglu.

    Just like a fortnight ago in Donington Park, a solid result went begging for the despondent Brit but his front-row qualifying and leading pace has at least been promising to see.  His exit undoubtedly made Bulega’s rise to 2nd place easier.

    Despite Locatelli’s best efforts in another race where he was clearly the best Yamaha, the Italian fell behind Bautista into 4th just before the halfway point.  The factory Ducati duo had shown pace to move forward from their starting positions of 4th and 7th respectively but there was not enough pace to catch Razgatlioglu and the order was clearly settled by half-distance barring any disasters.

    Locatelli finished ahead of Petrucci and the latter still holds 3rd in the championship ahead of Bautista thanks to a great recovery drive having been caught in the turn 2 melee.  Alex Lowes ran Petrucci close before a crucial mistake in the closing laps saw him cede position while Rea slipped back into the frenetic battle for 7th.

    There was contact and frequent position changes in the duel over 7th between Montella, Gerloff and Xavi Vierge but Rea took himself out at turn 1 with 6 laps to go.  To add insult to injury, the Yamaha rider then slid out at the fast turn 4 after rejoining to continue his nightmare 2025 season.

    Axel Bassani joined the fight at the bottom of the top-10 as Iannone recovered to 13th after falling out of the points-paying positions following his long-laps.  Tomorrow will be a historic day for the championship as it celebrates a millennium of races at the Hungarian Round that has so far gone all Razgatlioglu’s way.

    Race 1 Results

      Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • MotoGP Summer Break: Championship Check In

    MotoGP Summer Break: Championship Check In

    Marc Marquez may be running away with the 2025 title, but behind him, the championship standings reveal a fascinating mix of factory form, rising stars, and the impact of MotoGP’s concession system. From Ducati’s dominance to Honda and Yamaha’s quiet resurgence, here’s how the grid stacks up after the Czech Grand Prix weekend — and what it means for each manufacturer’s development path.

    Manufacturer Key Points

    Ducati

    • Five riders in the top 6 shows immense depth.
    • Marc Marquez [Ducati Lenovo Team] dominance + consistent support from Alex Marquez [BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP], Pecco Bagnaia [Ducati Lenovo Team], and the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team.
    • No surprise they continue to lock out Rank A in the Concession system.

    Aprilia

    • Marco Bezzecchi flying the flag solo in the Aprilia Racing team with 156 points (P4).
    • Jorge Martin’s [Aprilia Racing] injury and Aleix’s switch to Honda have hurt the overall tally.
    • Still comfortably Rank C, but lacking strength in numbers.
    Photo credit: Aprilia Factory Racing

    KTM

    • Pedro Acosta [Red Bull KTM Factory Racing] (P7) leads their charge with 124 pts.
    • Brad Binder [Red Bull KTM Factory Racing] in P12 (68 pts) and Maverick Viñales [Red Bull KTM Tech3] in P11 (69 pts) highlight some inconsistency.
    • Solid mid-pack presence keeping them in Rank C.

    Honda

    • Joan Zarco [CASTROL Honda LCR] (P8, 109 pts) is the clear standout.
    • Joan Mir [Honda HRC Castrol] is having the unluckiest season, only 36.36% of his crashes in Sprints and Grand Prix this year have been self inflicted, the rest have been contact with another rider.
    • Signs of progress, but still deep in Rank D.

    Yamaha

    • Fabio Quartararo [Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team] (P9) leads with 102 pts.
    • Like Honda, visible gains, but still Rank D.
    Photo Credit: Yamaha MotoGP

    🏆 Top 10 Riders – Championship Standings

    Pos Rider Team Points Gap to P1
    1 Marc Marquez Ducati Lenovo Team 381 –
    2 Alex Marquez BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP 261 -120
    3 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Lenovo Team 213 -168
    4 Marco Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing 156 -225
    5 Fabio Di Giannantonio VR46 Ducati 142 -239
    6 Franco Morbidelli VR46 Ducati 139 -242
    7 Pedro Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 124 -257
    8 Johann Zarco CASTROL Honda LCR 109 -272
    9 Fabio Quartararo Monster Energy Yamaha 102 -279
    10 Fermin Aldeguer BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP 97 -284
  • WorldSBK: Bulega completes hat-trick at home in Cremona

    WorldSBK: Bulega completes hat-trick at home in Cremona

    Nicolo Bulega picked up where he left off the previous day to more-or-less ease to victory in the remaining 2 races at the Cremona Circuit in Italy, with an ardent home crowd and MotoGP figures from Ducati in attendance to witness his historic achievement.

    TISSOT SUPERPOLE

    The 10-lap Tissot Superople around the shortest circuit on the World Superbikes calendar was a rapid affair.  The Sunday morning race took just under 15 minutes and was in many ways a repeat of Race 1 from the previous day.

    Bulega led from pole position ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista while Sam Lowes once again fell back from the front row of the grid.  Razgatlioglu tried his best to stick with Bulega but by as early as lap 3 it was evident that the latter was managing to pull away at the front.

    While Bulega stretched out his lead, Razgatlioglu kept him in sight but was unable to close in while Bautista once again settled in 3rd.  Andrea Iannone was hit with a double long-lap penalty for narrowly jumping the start and found himself in 9th after serving his punishment, having been in contention for 4th before it.

    Sam Lowes held onto 4th ahead of an Xavi Vierge, with the two faster riders of Iker Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci running out of time to make up more positions.  Crucially for Petrucci he was able to secure 6th place in the race and the same spot on the grid for Race 2 to make up for his shambolic qualifying in the Superpole on Saturday.

    As for Lecuona, he crashed out on lap 9 to make it 2 retirements in 2 races so far in Cremona despite having some scintillating pace.  After the Honda rider crashed out, Andrea Locatelli, Iannone and Michael van der Mark were those who rounded out the top 9 and inherited those same places for Race 2.

    Given how short the race was, the independent Ducati riders Scott Redding and Gabriele Ruiu gambled on running the qualifying tyre but were unable to make much progress.  Redding fell short of the crucial 9th place require to get a better grid position for Race 2, coming home in 11th while Ruiu was 21st.

    TISSOT SUPERPOLE RESULTS

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    RACE 2

    It became known that Lowes was suffering from illness this weekend and this was perhaps why he once again went backwards at the start of the 3rd race of the weekend.  Despite Bautista starting on the front row, he was unable to challenge Bulega and Razgatlioglu who once again held 1st and 2nd places at the start.

    Just as in Race 1, Razgatlioglu scythed up the inside of Bulega with a block pass at the final corner of the 1st lap.  Bulega then stalked his rival for another 3 laps before an unsuccessful move at the end of the back straight on lap 4, which he converted successfully at the same spot a lap later to retake the lead.

    Unsurprisingly, that was the last Razgatlioglu or anyone else saw of Bulega.  In front of a 45,000 strong home crowd and senior figures from Ducati’s MotoGP management, the 25-year-old delivered while the pressure was on to secure an emotional hat-trick that will live long in the memory for him – and his stunned competitors.

    Razgatlioglu nonetheless did well to bank three 2nd place finishes this weekend as he noted Bulega’s superior speed on corner exits, but even Bautista on the other factory Ducati was unable to get close to his teammate.  At least Razgatlioglu was much closer to Bulega in Race 2 than he was in Race 1, with one mistake by Bulega probably enough to put himself under pressure from the BMW rider, however the Italian was peerless around Cremona.

    After Bulega retook the lead the main action was taking place further down the order.  Petrucci was able to take move from up from 6th into 4th after dispatching Lowes and Vierge.  Of course it was still a disappointing weekend for the man who won all 3 races at Cremona last year, and the gap to Bautista in 3rd suggests that 4th may have been the maximum that the Italian could have hoped for anyway.

    The battle for 5th was a thrilling and borderline disastrous affair between the factory Honda duo and Lowes.  Lecuona was again coming through from the midfield and after a tough battle with Locatelli he had around 6 laps to catch and pass his teammate and Lowes up ahead.

    By the time Lecuona became a factor in the battle for 5th, time was running out.  Some very aggressive racing between the two teammates saw them almost collide at the final corner, then Vierge made contact with Lowes coming onto the start-finish straight.

    A thrilling final lap saw Lowes valiantly retake P5 with just 3 corners to go while Vierge had to settle for 7th behind his teammate – a damning result giving their grid positions.  Locatelli was 8th on a difficult weekend for Yamaha, with Michael van der Mark and Remy Gardner rounding out the top 10.

    A hat-trick of wins for Bulega and 3 straight 2nd places for Razgatlioglu sees the Italian rider stretch his lead in the World Championship to 34 points heading to Autodrom Most for Round 5 in a fortnight’s time.  By then, it would not be a great surprise if Ducati has their fuel-flow slightly restricted to try and peg back Bulega in particular, but the concessions system in WorldSBK might not be enough to stop the 25-year-old from running away with this year’s title if the Acerbis Italian Round was anything to go by.

    RACE 2 RESULTS

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK