Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made up for the disappointment of his MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Race 1 crash at the Motul French Round, storming to a fantastic Tissot Superpole Race win at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours on Sunday morning. The 2023 WorldSSP Champion took the lead on the opening lap from Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) and kept the English rider at bay in an exciting finale to secure his first win since his stunning rookie victory in the opening race of the season in Australia.

LOWES PUSHES HARD: Late mistake costs Kawasaki rider

Lowes made a great start on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR, but was overtaken by Bulega at Turn 5, with those two pulling clear for the victory to be contested between the pair. An early crash for Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ended his race at Turn 7 on the opening lap with the WorldSBK Champion taken to the medical centre for a check-up. Bautista was subsequently declared unfit for Race 2 due to a fracture of the eighth rib on his left side. On the penultimate lap Lowes had put himself in a position to challenge Bulega for the lead before a small error from the Kawasaki rider gave the Ducati star the initiative and the Italian would not look back from there.

PETRUCCI ON PODIUM AGAIN: Aggressive ride pays off

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) crashed out at Turn 5 on lap 5 after fighting with fellow Italian Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), as Petrucci pushed on to secure a strong third place, after starting in tenth on the grid. Petrucci’s podium finish was a repeat of his Race 1 result, as was the fourth place for Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) – indeed it was the fourth time in 2024 that Redding has ended a race in fourth. The experienced Briton was able to get the better of Xavi Vierge (Team HRC), who ended up fifth in a feisty mid-pack battle, with Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) sixth and Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) seventh.

VAN DER MARK DROPS OFF: Dutchman unable to reproduce Race 1 win

After his excellent ride to victory in the wet in Race 1 yesterday Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was amongst the front runners in the early laps, riding in third place, thought he would ultimately end up in eighth place. Van der Mark was followed across the finish line by Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Axel Bassani (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) in ninth and tenth places respectively.

The top nine from WorldSBK Superpole Race, full results here:

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)

2. Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) +0.115s

3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +3.677s

4. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) +3.903s

5. Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) +5.710s

6. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) +5.854s

7. Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) +6.613s

8. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +7.788s

9. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +8.397s

Fastest lap: Alex Lowes, Kawasaki – 1’36.873s

Be sure to connect for Race 2 at Magny-Cours on Sunday at 15:30 Local Time (UTC +1) and watch the action live with the WorldSBK VideoPass - now 50% off!