Bulega answers back at Aragon
Race 2 Highlights
Starting from pole position Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) once again converted it into a Lap 1 lead. As has been the case throughout the weekend Bulega and Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) traded blows throughout the early laps. Any time Razgatlioglu attacked and took the lead Bulega immediately answered back to lead every lap.
A mistake from Razgatlioglu at Turn 7 on Lap 12 was capitalised on by Bulega who immediately opened a margin of one second. His consistent pace ensured a healthy winning margin of 3.2s.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) dropped to sixth on the opening lap. By Lap 4 he was into third position. Once into clear air his pace was fast and consistent but the Spaniard had lost too much time to the race leaders and finished 1.7s behind Razgatlioglu.
Starting from the second row of the Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) was combative throughout the 18 lap race. The Italian rider made a great start to the race to jump into third position. When Bautista came past, Iannone spent the race scrapping with Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), that was settled on the final lap in the Italian’s favour. A penultimate lap crash dropped Lowes from sixth position.
Championship Highlights
Razgatlioglu holds a 36 point lead over Bulega having conceded three points to his rival Bulega.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) continues to sit third in the championship with a 30 point advantage from Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) while Bautista’s double podium finish today leaves him one point adrift.
Ducati’s double win today allows them to retake the lead in the Manufacturers Standings. BMW trail by six points with six races remaining.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“I’m really happy because I needed these two wins today. It was very difficult as Toprak was always strong and aggressive, so I focused on staying with him and responding to his overtakes. It was a fantastic weekend with two great races and battles. Yesterday I wasn’t fully happy because the bike wasn’t perfect, but thanks to my team we improved it, and today I was faster and able to take the wins.”
P2 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
“It has been a hard weekend but there is one very positive thing: I finally won in Aragon. We took some very good points this weekend and in Race 2 I was pushing hard but made a mistake at Turn 7. Anyway, finishing second still gives us strong points for the Championship. Now I am looking ahead to Estoril, where I am normally very strong but we will see there.”
P3 – Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It has been a positive Sunday. After yesterday’s crash it was important to finish the races today. I felt quite good with the bike in the Superpole Race but in the afternoon I lost some positions at the start. When I was third the gap to Toprak and Nicolo wasn’t too big but it wasn’t easy to close them down. Today we could not take risks so the priority was to finish and regain confidence with the bike. I am happy to be on the podium. Of course I would prefer to fight for victories but with our current situation this is the maximum we can achieve.”
Race 2 Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +3.248s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.973s
4. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) +12.904s
5. Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +13.521s
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +16.102s
Championship Standings
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 523 points
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 487 points
3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 284 points
Tissot Superpole Race Highlights
Having won a record equalling thirteenth race in a row Sunday at Motorland Aragon would always come down to whether Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) would win the Tissot Superpole Race or have his run of success end…
Starting from pole position Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) would convert it into the holeshot at Turn 1. The opening lap however set the tone for the remaining laps of the race. Throughout the ten lap duration Razgatlioglu pounced on any chance he had to attack the leading Ducati who would fend off the advances.
On Lap 2 Razgatlioglu come past at Turn 15 which would prove a popular overtaking move for the World Champion throughout the race. Despite his combative ride the Turkish rider would only lead over the start-finish line on two of the ten laps.
Bulega hassled and harassed Razgatlioglu throughout and on the final lap he attacked at the final corner. Holding a tighter line he used the strengths of the Ducati V4R to take the lead and hold off the BMW M1000RR by just one tenth of a second at the line.
Starting from the second row of the grid Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) bounced back from the disappointment of a Race 1 crash to finish on the podium.
On the final lap Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) overtook Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in their battle for fourth position. The final point was scored by Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who won a four rider scrap that was separated by half a second.
Superpole Race Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.105s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.703s
Oncu holds off Manzi for narrow victory
A sixth race victory of the season was the reward for a battling performance from Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team). The Turkish rider was pushed all the way throughout the 15 lap duration to claim a near photo finish victory from (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team).
Race 1 victor Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) suffered from braking stability issues during the race but came through the leading group of six riders to finish on the podium in third position. The Ducati Panigale V2 rider finished one tenth of a second behind the race winner.
A seven rider rider group spent the majority of the race in close combat with one another. Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) finished in fourth position with the leading riders opening a gap over their pursuers in the closing laps.
Championship Highlights
Manzi holds a 60 point lead in the standings over Oncu. With 100 points available the Italian rider has the opportunity to clinch his first World Championship at the Estoril Round.
A two rider crash at the last corner elevated Tom Booth-Amos to seventh position at the flag. The extra points mean that the PTR Triumph rider holds a slender advantage of four points over Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) in their battle for third position.
P1 – Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team)
“I’m very happy. After warm-up I knew Manzi and Debise would come and fight. I focused on not making mistakes and waiting for the final laps. Manzi passed me again but I decided to attack on the last straight and to use the slipstream. I wanted to keep him behind in the final corner, which is always tricky. Overall, it was a very good weekend because normally my Aragon rounds are difficult.”
Race 2 Results
1. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) 1’53.310s
2. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +0.027s
3. Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) +0.146s
4. Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) +0.499s
5. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +2.846s
6. Xavi Cardelus (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +3.731s
Championship Standings
1. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) 380 points
2. Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) 360 points
3. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) 223 points
Chaotic race ends with a dominant victory for Vannucci
The second lap proved costly for championship contenders with a Turn 5 highside for Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) leaving Jeffrey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) with nowhere to go. Later in the lap at Turn 14 David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI) clashed with Phillip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing).
The incidents allowed Matteo Vannucci (PATA AG Motorsport Italia WorldSSP300) to open a lead of two seconds. With his pursuers fighting with each other Vannucci would eventually win by ten seconds. It was the Italian’s first win since 2023.
The final lap saw Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) and Humberto Maier (Yamaha AD78 FIMLA by MS Racing) claim the rostrum finishes. It was a typical battle for the podium positions with an 18 rider group fighting it out on the final lap.
A Long Lap Penalty on the penultimate for exceeding track limits lap dropped Benat Fernandez (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove) outside the points. He would fight back to finish the race in ninth position but was handed an additional one place penalty for once again exceeding track limits on the final lap.
Championship Highlights
Fernandez extended his championship lead by six points to 13 points over Salvador.
Fernandez was the only rider in the championship top five to score points today.
P1 – Matteo Vannucci (PATA AG Motorsport Italia WorldSSP300)
“Before the race, I didn’t think I could do it. We improved the suspension and tried many changes, even changing the bike before the race, and it worked. I’m very happy and want to thank AG Motorsport Italia, my team, for working so well all weekend. Overall, it has been a fantastic weekend, and with this victory, it feels amazing.”
Race 2 Results
1. Matteo Vannucci (PATA AG Motorsport Italia WorldSSP300)
2. Loris Veneman (EAB Racing Team) +10.135s
3. Humberto Maier (Yamaha AD78 FIMLA by MS Racing) +10.182s
4. Daniel Mogeda (Pons Motosport Italika Racing) +10.273s
5. Jakob Rosenthaler (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) +10.374s
6. Pepe Osuna (ZAPPAS-DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team) +10.401s
Championship Standings
1. Benat Fernandez (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove) 172 points
2. David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI) 159 points
3. Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) 150 points