Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) played spoiler for the first World Superbike race of the season. The pre season pace of Bulega has shown to be amongst the best on grid. In some cases Bulega topped all of the grid veterans. Today he solidified his presence in the championship with a win in his first World Superbike race. Bulega lead the Italian riders who dominated in race one with Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) and Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) finishing in second and third respectively. It was the first time in World Superbike history that two rookie riders finished 1-2 in their debut event.
After securing P1 in Superpole Bulega put on a masterclass to finish first. The win is already a change to last season with Bulega’s Aruba.it Racing teammate and 2023 World Superbike champion Alvaro Bautista, winning the majority of the races in 2023. The Superpole race and Race 2 are up next. After round 1 at the conclusion of the race weekend we will analysis on where the teams stand.
Full Race 1 Results are Below
Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Gap |
1 | 11 | N. BULEGA | Ducati Panigale V4R | |
2 | 55 | A. LOCATELLI | Yamaha YZF R1 | 2.280 |
3 | 29 | A. IANNONE | Ducati Panigale V4R | 2.630 |
4 | 22 | A. LOWES | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 4.728 |
5 | 54 | T. RAZGATLIOGLU | BMW M 1000 RR | 5.706 |
6 | 77 | D. AEGERTER | Yamaha YZF R1 | 8.333 |
7 | 60 | M. VAN DER MARK | BMW M 1000 RR | 8.647 |
8 | 9 | D. PETRUCCI | Ducati Panigale V4R | 9.965 |
9 | 31 | G. GERLOFF | BMW M 1000 RR | 11.699 |
10 | 97 | X. VIERGE | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 12.423 |
11 | 45 | S. REDDING | BMW M 1000 RR | 14.413 |
12 | 47 | A. BASSANI | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 16.668 |
13 | 14 | S. LOWES | Ducati Panigale V4R | 18.388 |
14 | 21 | M. RINALDI | Ducati Panigale V4R | 23.560 |
15 | 1 | A. BAUTISTA | Ducati Panigale V4R | 32.471 |
16 | 5 | P. OETTL | Yamaha YZF R1 | 35.580 |
17 | 65 | J. REA | Yamaha YZF R1 | 37.949 |
18 | 53 | T. RABAT | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | 39.427 |
19 | 95 | T. MACKENZIE | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 54.890 |
20 | 27 | A. NORRODIN | Honda CBR1000 RR-R | 57.202 |
21 | 28 | B. RAY | Yamaha YZF R1 | 58.642 |
RET | 87 | R. GARDNER | Yamaha YZF R1 | 18 Laps |