Bulega leads Iannone and Bautista, Razgatlioglu falls again without injury
Nicolo Bulega built upon his strong testing form in Free Practice 1 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, topping the Phillip Island timesheets. His 1’28.922s lap was the only time in the 1’28s bracket, and he showed by far the most consistent speed of all the top placers. Andrea Iannone was second, 0.367s behind, while Bulega’s teammate Alvaro Bautista secured third, 0.593s off the pace.
The Ducatis are going to take some stopping, with Danilo Petrucci rounding out an all-Panigale top 4. Dominique Aegerter took a promising fifth for Yamaha, followed by Toprak Razgatlioglu, who’s session was interrupted by a slow speed tip off at Turn 4.
Alex Lowes led the Bimota riders in seventh, just ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) in eighth, while Axel Bassani and Sam Lowes rounded out the top ten.
Remy Gardner finished the session 16th, just ahead of rookie Ryan Vickers, who was able to continue after a Turn 10 crash. Fellow newcomers Yari Montella and Bahattin Sofuoglu finished 12th and 20th, respectively, with Sofuoglu just a tenth behind teammate Tito Rabat.
|
Pos
|
Name
|
Team
|
Lap Time
|
Laps
|
Speed (km/h)
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
N. BULEGA
|
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
|
1’28.922
|
12
|
315.4
|
|
2
|
A. IANNONE
|
Team Pata Go Eleven
|
1’29.289
|
17
|
323.9
|
|
3
|
A. BAUTISTA
|
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
|
1’29.515
|
21
|
319.1
|
|
4
|
D. PETRUCCI
|
Barni Spark Racing Team
|
1’29.584
|
15
|
319.1
|
|
5
|
D. AEGERTER
|
GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
|
1’29.739
|
24
|
314.5
|
|
6
|
T. RAZGATLIOGLU
|
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
|
1’29.779
|
13
|
314.5
|
|
7
|
A. LOWES
|
bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team
|
1’29.837
|
19
|
309.1
|
|
8
|
A. LOCATELLI
|
Pata Maxus Yamaha
|
1’29.849
|
17
|
319.1
|
|
9
|
A. BASSANI
|
bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team
|
1’29.916
|
14
|
311.8
|
|
10
|
S. LOWES
|
ELF Marc VDS Racing Team
|
1’29.929
|
20
|
316.3
|
|
11
|
M. VAN DER MARK
|
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
|
1’30.132
|
18
|
316.3
|
|
12
|
Y. MONTELLA
|
Barni Spark Racing Team
|
1’30.289
|
23
|
319.1
|
|
13
|
X. VIERGE
|
Honda HRC
|
1’30.381
|
18
|
316.3
|
|
14
|
G. GERLOFF
|
Kawasaki WorldSBK Team
|
1’30.395
|
19
|
316.3
|
|
15
|
S. REDDING
|
MGM BONOVO Racing
|
1’30.429
|
11
|
310.0
|
|
16
|
R. GARDNER
|
GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
|
1’30.553
|
16
|
315.4
|
|
17
|
R. VICKERS
|
Motocorsa Racing
|
1’30.560
|
16
|
318.2
|
|
18
|
T. RABAT
|
Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team
|
1’30.978
|
13
|
306.5
|
|
19
|
T. NAGASHIMA
|
Honda HRC
|
1’31.017
|
20
|
316.3
|
|
20
|
B. SOFUOGLU
|
Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team
|
1’31.088
|
15
|
313.6
|
|
21
|
I. LECUONA
|
Honda HRC
|
1’31.151
|
20
|
315.4
|
|
22
|
T. MACKENZIE
|
PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team
|
1’31.459
|
11
|
306.5
|
