Rain was in the air at the TT Circuit Assen today and it helped to make for exciting races across the WorldSBK classes.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) continued his perfect start to the season with his seventh victory but the battle for the win was only settled in the final laps.
Race 1 Highlights
Starting from pole position didn’t offer Bulega the early lead. Instead it was his Aruba.it Racing – Ducati teammate Iker Lecuona that led the pack around. On Lap 2 Bulega hit the front and he would lead for the next 13 laps before rain started to fall around the 4.542km circuit. At that moment Lecuona sensed an opportunity to win. With the pace dropping off as riders adapted to the conditions the Spaniard attacked and bridged the gap to Bulega. Ultimately Bulega claimed the victory as conditions improved in the closing laps but it was the closest anyone has come to defeating him this year.
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) started from the front row of the grid and spent the entire 21 lap duration in third position. Having returned to full fitness from a wrist fracture the British rider claimed his first podium finish of the season as the leading Independent Rider.
Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) started from the third row of the grid but made a good start to run inside the top five throughout. When the rain started to fall he was the fastest rider on track but had too much ground to make up in the podium fight. The double World Champion will have been encouraged by his best performance of the campaign and winning his battle with Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team).
There was plenty of drama in the fight for sixth. Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) spent the early laps in contention but was given a double long lap penalty for a jump start that left him down the order at the end of the race. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) led home a seven rider group in sixth position ahead of a combative Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who started 13th and finished seventh.
Championship highlights
Oliveira is now third in the championship standings having moved ahead of Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team).
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati):
“This was a more complicated race than I expected! It was a very good race though and in the last seven laps, when it started to rain, and when you’re leading it’s difficult to understand how hard you can push. When Iker overtook me, I thought it didn’t make sense to take too many risks, so I followed him. During the final laps the track started to dry again so I pushed again. My pace was strong because I had managed the front tyre well during the race, and in the end I could take the win. I’m on a good run of results and I want to continue like this. Winning is everything.”
P2 – Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati):
“I’m really happy with P2. When the rain arrived, it was quite heavy for one lap so I took a risk because I usually feel good in those tricky conditions. I saw it as an opportunity, so I pushed, recovered the gap and overtook Nicolo. My front tyre dropped a lot with the rain and I started to struggle so Nicolo passed me again. In any case, P2 is a good result. We still need to improve and find something more for tomorrow but step by step we are getting there.”
P3 – Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team):
“I think it’s the right result for us. The rain helped me get a bit closer but in reality I’ve been third in terms of pace all weekend. My lap in Superpole was good too so I’m happy with that. This track suits me well from my Moto2 experience, The fast, flowing sections in sectors three and four are good for me and the bike is working well. I still need to improve in a few areas, Turns 1, 3 and 10, so we’ll look into it tonight.”
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Race 1 Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.618a
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +2.923s
4. Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) +6.376s
5. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +11.775s
6. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +17.167s
Fastest lap: Nicolo Bulega (Ducati) 1’33.341s – new lap record
Superpole Highlights
Bulega continued his domination of Tissot Superpole with his third pole position of the season. The championship leader set a new outright lap record at TT Circuit Assen.
For third time this season Ducati had a front row lockout with Sam Lowes and Lecuona on the front row.
Petrucci qualified on the second row of the grid for the second time this season. The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team rider was fourth fastest ahead of Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team).
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’32.144s
2. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.329s
3. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.423s
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