Bautista on the podium (P2) after leading until the final sector. Bulega concludes debut weekend second in the standings. First podium for Huertas in WorldSSP.
It was a Sunday full of twists and turns at Phillip Island. Race-2 was stopped after 4 laps by the red flag for the crash of Rea (Yamaha) and the riders restarted with 11 laps to go, obviously without the mandatory flag to flag introduced for this round.
Starting from fourth position, Alvaro Bautista immediately took the lead, which he held until the red flag. Same conditions in the second start: the Spanish took the lead at the very first corner but the excessive consumption of the rear tire did not allow him to defend himself from the attack of Lowes (Kawasaki) a few corners from the end.
Nicolò Bulega ended the Australian Sunday with two P5. The Italian rider didn’t get off to a good start, especially after the red flag, and found himself 14th. He had the merit of not giving up and recovered position after position until he finished in fifth place, closing his first Superbike weekend in second place in the championship standings.
Superpole Race Results
P1 A. Lowes (Kawasaki)
P2 A. Locatelli (Yamaha) +1.157s
P3 T. Razgatlioglu (BMW) +1.738s
P4 A. Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.812s
P5 N. Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.838s
Race-2 Results
P1 A. Lowes (Kawasaki)
P2 A. Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 0.048s
P3 D. Petrucci (Ducati) +1.178s
P5 N. Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.346s
Championship Standings
P1 A. Lowes (Kawasaki) 50
P2 N. Bulega (Ducati) 41
P3 A. Locatelli (Yamaha) 29
P5 A. Bautista (Ducati) 27
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #1)
“I am very satisfied because the feeling with the bike has grown day by day. That was the main objective after a winter in which we encountered some difficulties, also because of my physical condition. In Race 2 I rediscovered the sensations of last year and this gives me great confidence ahead of the next round. The overtaking of Lowes? I didn’t expect him to pass at that point but in the last three laps, I felt I had a problem with the rear tyre. It’s okay”.
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #11)
“The balance of the weekend is very positive. We took a pole position, a win, two fastest laps, and two fifth places which still gave us important points. I am very happy to have started the season like this. It is clear, though, that there is still a lot of work to be done, especially to get a better start. Even in Race 2, I was left behind in the first corners and had to fight with the group to recover positions. However, when I found some space, at that point the race pace became very strong. I think if there had been a few more laps I could have fought for the podium”.
- WorldSSP
Adrian Huertas celebrates his first podium in WorldSSP at the end of Race-2 reduced to 9 laps due to the delay caused by the lengthy circuit cleaning procedures after an accident during the Australian Superbike. Forced to start from tenth position, the Spanish rider is the protagonist of a splendid comeback that allows him to pass in third position under the chequered flag.
Race 2 results
P1 Y. Montella (Ducati)
P2 M. Schroetter (MV Agusta) +0.203s
P3 A. Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +1.658s
Championship Standings
P1 Y. Montella (Ducati) 50
P2 M. Schroetter (MV Agusta) 36
P3 F. Caricasulo (MV Agusta) 26
P7 A. Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP) 16
Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP #99)
“I am happy with this podium and I thank the team for the work they did solving the problem we had yesterday. It’s clear, though, that after the pole position we took on Friday, I would have expected to bring home a few more points. But it doesn’t matter: we have shown that we are competitive and in Barcelona we will try to take a big step forward in terms of results”.
