210 days after his first MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship pole position, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) secured his second in his rookie season. It had looked like Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) would claim a maiden pole but he was denied by a barely-believable lap from the #11 at the Cremona Circuit. It was an all-Italian top three in Tissot Superpole with Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) claiming third.
THE FIRST RUNS: Iannone on top with a big margin…
Iannone had topped the morning Free Practice 3 session with the first 1’28s lap of the weekend and he followed that up with a 1’28.263s on his first lap in Tissot Superpole to move into P1, before pitting after setting just one time. He was followed by Bulega and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha), although neither could get within half-a-second of ‘The Maniac’ on the first run.
BULEGA FIGHTS BACK: the first 1’27s lap of Cremona
With the crucial second runs underway, Iannone posted a 1’28.068s to take a provisional pole position but Bulega was able to set the first ever 1’27s lap of Cremona to deny Iannone a first pole in 2,960 days. The #11’s 1’27.953s was enough to secure a second pole position in WorldSBK, despite a crash at Turn 2 in the final few minutes which brought out the yellow flags. Iannone had to settle for second, with Petrucci taking third in Superpole. However, ‘Petrux’ has a three-place grid penalty for Race 1 due to slow riding on the racing line, so he will start Race 1 from P6.
Despite his crash in the last moments of the session, @nbulega claims the pole
Now, the walk to the parc ferme… Maybe someon can give Nicolo a lift? #ItalianWorldSBK pic.twitter.com/A4Q8FoF5Ki
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) September 21, 2024
BENEFITTING FROM PETRUCCI’S PENALTY: Lowes twins P4 and P6
Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took fourth in Superpole although he’ll be promoted to the Race 1 front row due to Petrucci’s penalty. The #22 had a crash at Turn 13 which ended his session early but claimed P4 on the timesheets. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) was fifth in Superpole as he was in a Lowes sandwich, with Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) taking sixth in the session. With Petrucci’s penalty, Alex Lowes will be P3 on the Race 1 grid with Locatelli fourth and Sam Lowes fifth.
TWO HONDAS IN TOP TEN, RABAT STRONG: looking to spring a surprise
Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) was the lead Honda rider as he took P7 although there wasn’t much to separate him from teammate Iker Lecuona, with the Spanish duo just a tenth apart. Lecuona moved up the order with his final lap to claim a top-eight starting position after he had a Turn 7 spill. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) took ninth, his best Superpole result since Imola in 2023 and his first top-ten grid start of the season. Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) rounded out the top ten with a 1’28.291s, almost a second behind Bulega’s lap time.
ACTION-PACKED SESSION: crashes up and down the field
It was a dramatic session with several crashes. Alessandro Delbianco (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) came down at Turn 2, followed shortly by Niccolo Canepa (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) at Turn 8. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) will line up from 13th place, making it the first time he’s taken back-to-back Superpole results out of the top ten while racing for Ducati. Elsewhere, Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 16th in Superpole but he will start from P19 after he was penalised with a three-place grid penalty for slow riding on the racing line in FP2.
The top six from WorldSBK Superpole, full results here.
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’27.953s
2. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) +0.115s
3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.332s
4. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.357s
5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +0.649s
6. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.662s
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Source: WorldSBK.com