NICOLO Bulega capped off a dominant weekend at the Australian Round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship with a flawless performance, claiming victory in Race 2 and securing his first-ever hat-trick in WorldSBK.
Bulega, who had topped every session leading up to the final race, stormed off the line into Turn 1 in the lead and never looked back. Andrea Iannone impressed once again, slotting into second place off the start and showing remarkable consistency throughout the weekend.
Scott Redding, making his recent return to Ducati machinery, delivered another strong performance and found himself in the mix early on. Meanwhile, Bulega and Iannone managed to break away from the chasing pack, aiming to maximise their lead before the mandatory pit stops.
Iannone kept Bulega firmly in his sights, making his strongest challenge of the weekend in a bid to contest the race win. Further back, a tight battle for fifth unfolded between Toprak Razgatlioglu, Sam Lowes, and Danilo Petrucci. An aggressive move from Razgatlioglu saw him dive under Petrucci at Turn 4, but both riders ran wide, losing time to Alvaro Bautista and Redding. Razgatlioglu was later handed an irresponsible riding penalty, forcing him to drop one position.
By Lap 8, the field prepared for their mandatory pit stops. Bulega maintained a 1.8-second lead over Iannone, with Bautista, Redding, Razgatlioglu, Petrucci, and Lowes in pursuit. With riders limited to 11 laps on a single dry rear tyre, strategic decisions played a crucial role in determining the final outcome.
Iannone, Bautista, Redding, Petrucci, both Lowes brothers, and Axel Bassani were the first to pit, while Bulega, Razgatlioglu, Yari Montella, Andrea Locatelli, and Dominique Aegerter stayed out an extra lap. Rookie WorldSBK rider Ryan Vickers opted for the maximum allocated time on track before pitting last.
Bulega executed a flawless pit stop and rejoined the race still in front, maintaining his advantage over Iannone, Redding, and Bautista. However, pit stop infractions led to penalties: Bassani received a 0.505-second penalty, Redding a 2.905-second penalty, and Tito Rabat was handed a 2.000-second penalty.
Misfortune struck for Toprak Razgatlioglu, who suffered a technical issue with his BMW and was forced to retire on Lap 12, ending his weekend without a Sunday podium.
While Iannone looked poised to challenge Bulega, the Ducati rider extended his lead to 3.2 seconds with seven laps remaining, shutting down any hopes of a late-race battle.
Australian rider Remy Gardner endured a difficult end to his home round, crashing out at high speed at Turn 1 during the latter half of the race. Fortunately, he walked away unscathed.
At the checkered flag, it was Nicolo Bulega who reigned supreme, sealing a remarkable hat-trick and completing a perfect weekend from Free Practice 1 to the final race. Alvaro Bautista claimed his best result of the round with second place, while Andrea Iannone secured a well-earned podium in third.
The race also saw a historic Ducati dominance, with the top six positions occupied by the Italian manufacturer: Bulega, Bautista, Iannone, Redding, Petrucci, and Lowes. Andrea Locatelli was the best non-Ducati finisher, taking seventh place aboard his Yamaha YZF-R1.
Highlighting Bulega's one loss on the weekend, Bautista made sure the paddock knew who had won the fastest lap in Race 2. The Spaniard racing to the tune of a 1'28.836 lap.
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