Race 1 of the Portuguese Round provided endless emotions for all WorldSBK fans. Starting from P2, Nicolò Bulega immediately took the lead, and after holding it for six laps, he engaged in an electrifying duel with Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW). After a long series of overtakes and counter-overtakes, Bulega prepared his attack on the final straight but failed to complete his masterpiece by just 67-thousandths of a second.
On the other hand, Bautista‘s race ended after just a few metres. The Spanish rider (who started from ninth position after a challenging qualifying session) crashed after a few corners due to an impact with Redding (Ducati).
Nicolò Bulega maintains the Superbike World Championship lead with 82 points, 37 more than Razgatlioglu and 38 over Iannone (Ducati) and Petrucci (Ducati). Alvaro Bautista is sixth in the standings with 46 points.
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #11)
“It’s clear that victory always has a unique flavour, but I’m still delighted with what we did today. After the test in mid-March, the feeling was not particularly good, and for this, I thank my team and Ducati for the work done over these days that allowed me to be competitive. We know that this track is particularly suited to Toprak’s characteristics, and to be able to fight for the win in the final metres is a good sign”.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #19)
“There is little to say. Unfortunately, I was forced to start from the third row, but I’ve always found it challenging to qualify well at this track. However, I was convinced I could have a good race because the pace was solid. Unfortunately, some riders think they can solve their race in the first few laps, leading them to be aggressive from the first corners. I hope to be able to have my race tomorrow without contact, as I am already in the Superpole Race”.
