SBK Donington, Superpole Race: Nicolo Bulega wins – drama for Lecuona

During Saturday’s Superbike World Championship race at Donington, Ducati factory rider Iker Lecuona secured his first-ever World Championship victory. After 18 second-place finishes this season, he managed to beat his dominant team-mate, Nicolo Bulega. The Spaniard’s triumph also brought an end to Bulega’s incredible winning streak – the Italian had previously won 25 Superbike races in a row.

The starting grid for Sunday’s Superpole race was the same as for Race 1 on Saturday. The three Ducati riders – Bulega, Lecuona and Yari Montella – started from the front row. Sam Lowes (Ducati), Xavi Vierge (Yamaha) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Ducati) once again started from the second row. The third row was made up of Alex Lowes (Bimota), Axel Bassani (Bimota) and Thomas Bridewell (Ducati). Wildcard rider Jonathan Rea started the race from 10th position.

As on Saturday, Tarran Mackenzie was absent. The Briton had suffered a heavy crash in FP2 on Friday, sustaining serious injuries. Alberto Surra was the second Ducati rider to be absent. The Italian was diagnosed with a mild case of bursitis following FP3 on Saturday. To avoid taking any unnecessary risks, he and the team decided to sit out the rest of the race weekend.

On Sunday, too, the sky above the Donington circuit was cloudless. The air had already heated up to 34 degrees Celsius. The Superpole Race got underway at 11.10 am.

Lecuona once again got off to the best start. Montella settled into second place, with Bulega in third. Yamaha rider Xavi Vierge was fourth. Jonathan Rea managed to hold on to 10th position. Shortly afterwards, Sam and Alex Lowes overtook Vierge.

At the end of the first of ten laps, Lecuona was just under a second ahead. Montella held on to second place, with Bulega hot on his heels.

Disaster struck for Lecuona on lap 2 – he crashed at Turn 12. Montella was now the new leader, with Bulega lurking a tenth of a second behind. Lecuona picked up his Ducati and continued at the back of the field.

For Lecuona, the crash is doubly bitter. In the second main race this afternoon, he will have to start from far back on the grid.

On lap 3, Montella was still leading ahead of Bulega, with Marc VDS rider Sam Lowes eight tenths behind. Just under a second behind them was his brother Alex in fourth place.

On lap 4, BMW rider Miguel Oliveira went off into the gravel at Turn 8 – he rejoined the race in second-last place, ahead of Lecuona. Petrucci was only 18th.

Bulega then took the lead. Within a short space of time, he had built up a lead of over a second. Behind him, Montella and Sam Lowes were in 2nd and 3rd. Baldassari managed to overtake Thomas Bridewell and was now seventh.

With three laps to go, Jonathan Rea, in ninth place, held off Kawasaki rider Garrett Gerloff. At the front, the top three were pulling further and further clear. Lecuona headed for the pits and retired.

With two laps to go, Bulega still held a lead of around one second. Montella, meanwhile, was one second ahead of Sam Lowes. Baldassarri overtook Vierge and was now sixth. Gerloff passed Jonathan Rea and was ninth. Alvaro Bautista was in 11th place.

On the final lap, Bulega didn’t put a foot wrong. The top three positions were secure. Behind them, the Bimota riders Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani battled for fourth place.

Bulega crossed the finish line 1.5 seconds ahead of Montella. Sam Lowes finished third. Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani rounded off the top five.