The first Aruba.it Racing – Ducati one-two of the season saw Alvaro Bautista claim the honours in Race 2 ahead of Nicolo Bulega
A third podium of the season sees Bulega extend his Championship lead to 12 points
Toprak Razgatlioglu claimed back to back race victories for ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team by winning the Tissot Superpole Race before taking third in Race 2
The final day of the Pirelli Catalunya Round saw a daring last corner move from Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) surprise Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) to take the victory in the Tissot Superpole Race. The Turkish rider became the first BMW rider since Chaz Davies in 2013 to take back to back WorldSBK wins. Despite having to settle for a podium in Race 2 this was a superb weekend for Razgatlioglu who now sits fourth in the Championship standings.
The much touted battle of Alvaro Bautista versus Nicolo Bulega played out in Race 2. On this occasion it was double WorldSBK Champion Bautista who used his guile to win. The victory margin would eventually be just over two seconds with Bautista completing a weekend of podium finishes having dropped from the lead to third at the final corner of the Superpole Race.
Bulega, from pole position in the Superpole Race finished fourth before his second place finish in Race 2. The final race of the day also marked the first points of the season for Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) who finished in eighth position.
With four different winners from the opening six races of the season the 2024 WorldSBK season has started in style!
P1 | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“I feel really happy! It’s been a tough weekend for us. In Superpole we lost a lot of position on the grid and then we had the penalty too. Today we had to come back in both races. It was a great battle in the Superpole Race and then the afternoon was a different type of race. It was more about managing the tyre consumption. I made a good start but I didn’t want to push at the beginning. Nicolo overtook me because my pace was really slow. I thought that I could push a little bit more so I took the lead again and then I tried to focus on getting the maximum I could while not overusing the tyre. It’s been a long time since my last win so we’re going to celebrate!”
P2 | Nicolo Bulega | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“I tried to do something different today compared to yesterday. Yesterday I was very fast in the beginning but I destroyed the tyre. I decided to follow Alvaro and copy him. At the end of this race my tyre life was better compared to yesterday but Alvaro was very fast today. Congratulations to him. Thanks to my team because our bike was good!”
P3 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“I am happy but the last race was very difficult. Ducati was very strong, especially in the last sector. At the start of the race I stayed with them but then the rear tyre started to spin a lot and I started to save my tyre. To take three podium places this weekend is incredible. My team worked very hard this weekend. We’re still not 100% but to win two races in Catalunya and another podium is really good. I’m looking forward to Assen, and I hope we’ll be fighting for the win there as well!”
WorldSBK Race 2 Results
1. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.041s
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +7.005s
4. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +12.452s
5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +15.076s
6. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +15.285s
Championship Standings
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 87 points
2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 75 points
3. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 75 points
