Estoril, Superpole Race: Bulega 0.003 seconds ahead of Toprak / Superbike World Championship

History was made in the Superpole race of the 2024 Superbike World Championship in Estoril. In the closest finish, Nicolò Bulega (Ducati) won by just 0.003 seconds ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu (BMW). Bautista third, Rea crashed.

The Superpole race over just 10 laps took place in sunshine on a dry slope and a pleasant 20 degrees Celsius. The fact that the drivers don’t have to pay attention to tire wear and push themselves to the limit every lap is what makes this format so appealing. The name of the sprint race comes from the fact that the result is included in the starting grid for the second run. In addition, the top 9 receive up to twelve championship points and take the first nine starting positions, the other positions corresponding to Saturday’s Superpole.

The starting grid for the sprint largely corresponded to the Superpole. Remy Gardner (Yamaha), who fell in race 1, is out of the remaining races of the season, which is why all pilots move up one position from 17th on the grid. BMW star Toprak Razgatlioglu, Ducati privateer Danilo Petrucci and Yamaha rider Jonathan Rea started from the front row.

Razgatlioglu won the start, but the Turk fell back to fourth place on the first lap. But on lap 2, the BMW driver regained the lead and set the fastest lap times that only Bulega could match. Coming out of the last corner, Bulega accelerated better and crossed the line as the winner by 0.003 seconds ahead of Razgatlioglu – the closest finish in the history of the Superbike World Championship! Álvaro Bautista (Ducati) came third.

After his crash in the first run, Andrea Locatelli brought the best Yamaha to the finish line in fourth place – this time his teammate Jonathan Rea crashed. On the rear wheel of Danilo Petrucci (Ducati), Kawasaki ace Alex Lowes finished sixth. The Italian is now ahead of the Englishman in the overall standings.

The Honda drivers Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona crossed the finish line in seventh and eighth positions.

The ailing Dominique Aegerter drove a brave race to 16th place. Philipp Öttl (Yamaha) was 21st.

This is how the race went:

Start: Razgatlioglu into the first corner ahead of Petrucci and Locatelli. Then Sam Lowes and Bulega. Aegerter on 16, Öttl 21.

Lap 1: Razgatlioglu falls back to fourth place behind Petrucci, Locatelli and Rea, but catches the Yamaha riders on the straight. Vierge sixth, Bautista in 10th place.

Lap 2: Razgatlioglu back in front in 1:37.263 min. Petrucci under pressure.

Lap 3: Locatelli and Bulega past Petrucci (4th). Vierge took 5th place from Rea. Aegerter on 17th place. Bulega moved up to second place in 1:36.630 minutes.

Lap 4: Razgatlioglu 0.5 sec ahead of Bulega and Locatelli. Bautista is already fifth, then Rea, Alex Lowes and Vierge. Lecuona already ninth.

Lap 5: Razgatlioglu and Bulega drive 0.5 seconds faster than the rest. Locatelli, Petrucci and Bautista fight for third place. Rea (7th) under pressure from the Honda drivers. Öttl on 21.

Lap 6: Razgatlioglu in 1:36.221 min, 0.7 sec ahead of Bulega. Rea fell!

Round 7: Bulega cannot be shaken off. Locatelli (3rd) keeps Bautista in check.

Lap 8: Bulega shortens the time to just 0.2 seconds in 1:36.178 minutes. Bautista takes third place on the straight.

Lap 9: Bulega on the rear wheel of Razgatlioglu!

Last lap: When sprinting to the finish line, Bulega comes out of the last corner better and wins ahead of Razgatlioglu. Bautista comes third.

Result Superbike World Championship Estoril, Superpole race:
PosdrivermotorcycleDiff
1.Nicolò Bulega (I)Ducati
2.Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR)BMW+ 0.003 sec
3.Alvaro Bautista (E)Ducati+ 4,253
4.Andrea Locatelli (I)Yamaha+ 5,623
5.Danilo Petrucci (I)Ducati+ 7,161
6.Alex Lowes (UK)Kawasaki+ 7,192
7.Xavi Vierge (E)Honda+ 8,157
8.Iker Lecuona (E)Honda+ 9,672
9.Andrea Iannone (I)Ducati+ 11,822
10.Scott Redding (UK)BMW+ 12,345
11.Garrett Gerloff (USA)BMW+ 12,613
12.Axel Bassani (I)Kawasaki+ 13,575
13.Michael vd Mark (NL)BMW+ 13,772
14.Michael Rinaldi (I)Ducati+ 14,264
15.Sam Lowes (UK)Ducati+ 15,051
16.Dominique Aegerter (CH)Yamaha+ 15,432
17.Tito Rabat (E)Kawasaki+ 15,542
18.Bradley Ray (UK)Yamaha+ 18,018
19.Tarran Mackenzie (GB)Honda+ 21,003
20.Ivo Lopes (P)Honda+ 24,271
21.Philipp Öttl (D)Yamaha+ 24,714
22.Jonathan Rea (UK)Yamaha+ 27,011
23.Luca Bernardi (RSM)Yamaha+ 39,701
Superbike World Championship 2024: Status after 32 of 36 races
PosdrivermotorcyclePoints
1.Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR)BMW448
2.Nicolò Bulega (I)Ducati407
3.Alvaro Bautista (E)Ducati340
4.Danilo Petrucci (I)Ducati282
5.Alex Lowes (UK)Kawasaki281
6.Michael vd Mark (NL)BMW204
7.Andrea Iannone (I)Ducati203
8.Andrea Locatelli (I)Yamaha203
9.Garrett Gerloff (USA)BMW159
10.Remy Gardner (AUS)Yamaha140
11.Iker Lecuona (E)Honda123
12.Xavi Vierge (E)Honda115
13.Jonathan Rea (UK)Yamaha102
14.Scott Redding (UK)BMW96
15.Axel Bassani (I)Kawasaki88
16.Dominique Aegerter (CH)Yamaha81
17.Michael Rinaldi (I)Ducati66
18.Sam Lowes (UK)Ducati48
19.Nicholas Spinelli (I)Ducati25
20.Tito Rabat (E)Kawasaki22
21.Bradley Ray (UK)Yamaha11
22.Alessandro Delbianco (I)Yamaha10
23.Tarran Mackenzie (GB)Honda7
24.Philipp Öttl (D)Yamaha5
25.Michele Pirro (I)Ducati3
26.Markus Reiterberger (D)BMW3
27.Ivo Lopes (P)Honda1

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