This is the young Italian’s second achievement in his debut WSBK season, 210 days after his first pole.
Andrea Iannone, who seemed destined to achieve his first pole in the championship, was surprised by Bulega’s impressive performance. In the end, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider secured the top spot on the grid with an impressive lap in a Superpole dominated by Italian riders. Danilo Petrucci, of the Barni Spark Racing Team, completed the qualifying podium… but was later penalized.
Iannone started strong
Iannone stood out early in the morning by leading the third free practice session, becoming the first rider to record a 1:28s lap at the weekend. In Superpole, he continued to impose himself with a lap of 1’28.263s, which provisionally put him in the lead, before returning to the pits. Bulega and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) followed him, but both were more than half a second behind “The Maniac” in the first phase of the session.
Bulega's response
The first 1m27s in Cremona In the second set of fast laps, Iannone improved his time to 1:28.068s, strengthening his provisional position. However, Bulega responded spectacularly, becoming the first to break the 1:28s barrier, with a time of 1:27.953s, claiming pole despite a crash at turn 2 in the final minutes that caused yellow flags. With this performance, the #11 secured his second pole of the season. Iannone took second place, while Petrucci, who was third, faced a three-place grid penalty for riding slowly on the racing line, dropping to sixth place in Race 1.
Petrucci penalized «helps» Lowes brothers
Alex Lowes, of the Kawasaki Racing Team, finished the Superpole in fourth but will move up to the front row of the grid for Race 1 due to Petrucci’s penalty. Lowes suffered a crash at turn 13 that ended his session, but he still managed to secure fourth place. Locatelli was fifth, in between the Lowes brothers, with Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in sixth. On the starting grid for Race 1, Alex Lowes will occupy third place, Locatelli fourth, and Sam Lowes fifth.
Honda and Rabat surprise: Strong candidates for the top 10
Xavi Vierge, of Team HRC, was the best Honda representative, achieving seventh place, closely followed by his teammate Iker Lecuona, who recovered on the last lap after a crash at turn 7, securing eighth place. Bradley Ray (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) achieved ninth place, his best result in Superpole since Imola in 2023 and the first time he has started a race in the top ten this season. Tito Rabat, of Kawasaki Puccetti Racing, closed the top 10, with a time of 1:28.291s, almost a second slower than Bulega’s mark.
Incident-filled session
The session was marked by several crashes. Alessandro Delbianco (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and Niccolo Canepa (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) crashed at turns 2 and 8, respectively. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), the current champion, will start from 13th place, marking the second consecutive time outside the top 10 in Superpole since riding for Ducati. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) qualified in 16th but will start the race from 19th after being penalized three places for slow riding on the racing line during free practice 2.
© Jairo Diaz Photo
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