PREVIEW: Bulega’s chance to bounce back on home soil as Razgatlioglu races at Cremona for the first time
Italy welcomes WorldSBK action for Round 4 of the 2025 season, with Cremona hosting all the action as Bulega looks to respond from his Assen disappointment
The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship heads to the Cremona Circuit for Round 4 of the 2025 season and the northern Italian circuit, complete with its passionate fan base, will be hoping for more excitement like last year when the circuit hosted its first race. The Acerbis Italian Round is up next and there are plenty of unanswered questions heading to Italy: how will Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) respond to his Assen woes? How will Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) fare on his first race weekend at Cremona? Will Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) repeat his 2024 heroics?
BULEGA VS RAZGATLIOGLU, CHAPTER FOUR: who will come out on top at Cremona?
Bulega heads into his first home round of the season as the Championship leader but on the back of a double retirement at Assen, costing him a potential 34 points as he was second in the Tissot Superpole Race and first in Race 2 when the issue occurred. That enabled Razgatlioglu to close the gap to just 21 points heading to Cremona, but the momentum could swing again: ‘El Turco’ missed out on Cremona last year through injury, while Bulega was P3, P4 and P2 last year. Will this be the opportunity ‘Bulegas’ needs to wrestle back the momentum? Of course, last season, Cremona belonged to Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) after his hat-trick and he’ll be aiming to be in the mix again this year, while Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) heads into his home round as one of the most in-form riders – he’s the only rider to score points in every race and is fresh from his first WorldSBK victory at Assen; can he repeat his win at Cremona? It’s also worth noting Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) is seemingly more competitive this year and he was on the rostrum twice last season at Cremona.
THE MIDFIELD GROUP: can Sam Lowes continue his Assen form?
Another rider heading into Cremona on a high is Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) after his maiden pole and podium at Assen, though Cremona wasn’t a friendly track for the #14 last year with a best of P11 and, in a pack midfield, every point could be crucial: only 19 points separate the Brit in P6 in the standings and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) in 15th, who also heads into Cremona with a podium to his name. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) is seventh and trails Sam Lowes by a single point, while Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) and Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) are tired on 41 points each – 10 behind ‘The Maniac’. After that, there are six riders separated by five points: Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) on 38, Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) on 37, teammate Iker Lecuona on 34 along with Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Gardner in 15th on 33 points. In this group, Iannone finished third in the Superpole Race last year at Cremona, with Alex Lowes one place ahead of him.
LOOKING TO CONTINUE THEIR FORM: Mackenzie to carry on from Assen? Rabat to repeat 2024 pace at Cremona?
Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) goes to Italy after his best weekend in WorldSBK at Assen, with a high point of P9 in the Superpole Race but points in all three races – the first time he’s done this, while his points tally after Assen this year exceeds his total from 2024 (9 this year, 7 last), with 2024's points all scored at Assen. Home hero Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) will aim for a top ten result, as will Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing), as his team mark their home round. Tito Rabat (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) was quick at Cremona last season on Kawasaki machinery, will that translate to strong results in 2025 on the Yamaha R1? The Spaniard has been outperformed by rookie teammate Bahattin Sofuoglu so far this season, in terms of points, and will be hoping to change that at Cremona. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) has had a tough start to the year but it was Manuel Puccetti’s team that Rabat was fast with last year, giving the team a good starting point, and Zaqhwan Zaidi (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) continues his goal of making progress in WorldSBK.
RIDER LINE-UP NEWS: Rea aiming for return, Ruiu wildcards
The big news is Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) is aiming to make his WorldSBK return at Cremona following his multiple foot fractures in the Official Test in Australia, which ruled him out of the first three rounds. In order to take part in the weekend, he’ll need to pass a medical check on Thursday. Elsewhere, Gabriele Ruiu (Bmax) will return as a wildcard for the first time since Jerez 2023; this time, he’ll race a Panigale V4 R.
Get set for Cremona and watch the Assen highlights show HERE, read the Official Programme for the Italian Round HERE, and watch every moment from Italy using the WorldSBK VideoPass!
