WorldSBK: Title battles will go down to the wire in Jerez

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) out dragged Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) on the run to the finish line in the Tissot Superpole Race.

After ten laps of frantic action Bulega claimed the victory by just 0.003s in the closest finish in WorldSBK history

Razgatlioglu, starting from pole position, opted for the harder SCX tyre for the Superpole Race.

The Turkish star dropped to fourth on lap one after Danilo Petrucci, Andrea Locatelli and Jonathan Rea bundled past him at Turn 9.

Within a lap Razgatlioglu was back in front. He would hold that lead until the final metres when Bulega came past

Bulega timed his move to perfection. Taking advantage of his softer SCQ rear tyre he rode a perfect race to claim the fourth victory of his rookie season.

Bulega, spent the majority of the race on Toprak’s rear wheel and from Lap 3 he pursued his rival with the gap never more than half a second

Having opted for a harder rear tyre in Race 1 yesterday the focus of attention on the grid was whether Razgatlioglu would make a similar choice for Race 2.

Higher track temperatures and more rubber on the asphalt meant that the World Championship leader opted to start the race on the same tyre choice as his rivals.

Race 2 was the first time this season that Razgatlioglu could claim the championship if results went his way

Razgatlioglu held up his side of the bargain by claiming the 56th win of his WorldSBK career but it wasn’t straight forward.

In the early stages he dropped from second on the grid to fifth position.

Having dispatched of Rea, Locatelli and Bulega on consecutive laps Razgatlioglu gave chase to the fast starting Bautista

From the outside of the front row of the grid Bautista led the opening six laps before a mistake at Turn 6 opened a door for Razgatlioglu.

Having ran wide Bautista was relegated to second position and within a couple of laps Bulega also cleared his teammate.

The Italian though was presurised throughout the 21 lap race by his teammate.

Bautista settled into a rhythm behind his teammate and the gap was constantly around the half second margin.

Bautista, now out of title contention, played the rear gunner to his teammate but was ready to pounce in case of a mistake.

Bulega would hold second position to the finish

Rea finished off the podium in fourth position to claim his best result since the UK Round at Donington when he finished third.

It was a lonely race for the six times World Champion as he finished over eight seconds behind the podium and three seconds clear of four rider battle for fifth

Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) ended the race in fifth but the rewards went to the Barni Spark Racing Team rider Danilo Petrucci.

The Italian’s seventh place finish, behind Team HRC rider Xavi Vierge, ensured that Petrucci clinched the Independent Riders Award for the season

P1 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
“I’m very happy because I had a bit of bad luck in the Tissot Superpole Race this morning.

I lost that race at the finish line but we worked very well this weekend and we won Race 2.

I needed this for the championship. Now we’ll see how things go in Jerez!

I know Ducati is very strong there but I’ll just try my best. Overall, I’m very happy with this weekend.”

P2 | Nicolo Bulega | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“I enjoyed the Superpole Race a lot. It was a very good race, and I overtook Toprak at the last corner.

In Race 2 I had fun with some overtakes. During the race Toprak was very fast and it was difficult to beat him.

I’m happy with today because the championship fight will go to the final race.

We’re still in the title fight but realistically it’s difficult to win.

Toprak has had an amazing season and, for me, it’s already been a dream to be fighting for the championship in my first season.

I’m really happy and we’ve gained a lot of experience for next season.”

P3 | Alvaro Bautista | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
“I had a good start in Race 2 but Toprak’s pace was very fast. I couldn’t follow him.

I had a moment at the exit of Turn 6, and Nicolo passed me.

I thought maybe he had more pace than me but he had the same issues I had.

We couldn’t close the gap to Toprak and we spent the whole race together.

I followed him and, honestly, in normal conditions I would have tried to overtake him but I think the best thing for the team was to help Nicolo since he still has a chance to fight for the title.

We are a team in both good and bad times, and now everyone has to push for this title.”

 WorldSBK Race 2 Results
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +3.866s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +3.998s
4. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) +12.005s
5. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +15.209s
6. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) +15.792s
Fastest lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu, BMW – 1’36.802s

Championship Standings
1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 473 points
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 427 points
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 356 points

 WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.003s
3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.253s

Manzi forces Huertas to wait for title
A third win of the season saw Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) keep his feint title hopes alive in the Superport class.

The Italian rider heaped the pressure on Yari Montella throughout the race and on Lap 10 the Barni Spark Racing Team rider crashed out of the lead and out of championship contention

Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) racing for the first time with the chance to wrap up the Supersport title finished the race in second position.

Having started from the front row the Spanish rider ran wide into Turn 1 and dropped to fifth position at the end of the opening tour.

He would recover to claim second position behind Manzi and a critical 20 points

Montella’s mistake, at Turn 7, elevated a fight between Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) and Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) to one for the final step on the podium.

On the final lap both riders set their fastest laps of the race but it was Debise who held sway to claim the sixth podium of his season by just two tenths of a second

Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) capped off a very impressive debut weekend with a fifth place finish.

The Dutch rider started from sixth position and spent the 18 lap race in the second group battling with Debise and Mahias

Huertas holds a 45 point lead in the standings from Manzi. Five points at the final round of the season will guarantee the World Championship to the Spaniard

P1 | Stefano Manzi | Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing
“Yesterday was a disappointing race but we made a big step forward this morning in the warm-up session.

I felt very good on the bike and I knew something could happen during the race.

When you have that feeling, it gives you confidence. After Turn 1, I was already in second place and Yari was setting a very fast pace.

In the end, he made a mistake and went out. I saw that I had a gap of 1.5s to Adrian.

In the end this is a great result. I’m quite happy to keep the championship alive for the last round.”

 WorldSSP Race 2 Results
1. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing)
2. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +2.506s
3. Valentin Debise (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) +4.103
4. Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) +4.351s
5. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +7.670s
6. Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME AIR Racing) +9.355s

 Championship Standings
1. Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 410 points
2. Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) 365 points
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 354 points

Source : https://www.fim-moto.com/en/news/news-detail/article/worldsbk-title-battles-will-go-down-to-the-wire-in-jerez

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