Phillip Island WorldSBK Superpole Race Results

Ducati Riders Drink The Top Five Dry After Razgatlioglu Runs Off

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) once more hit the front from pole and he was joined in the leading push by Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven Ducati). It would end up a totally dominant race for Ducati as a factory, with the first non V4-R riders in sixth place.

When both Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) ran wide – very wide – entering T4, their races were effectively over. Bautista would later crash, rather than merely run off, on Lap Two, although he would restart. Toprak got up to 12th at the flag but scored no points in the sprint race scoring system.

By lap four of ten, Bulega was 0.5 seconds up on Iannone, with third placed Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) already 3.5 seconds down on the lead.

Both leading riders would have eventually lonely races, with Bulega 2.3 seconds up in his fellow Italian at the chequered flag.

Petrucci was third, the resurgent Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing Ducati) was fourth, with a career best WorldSBK ride to fifth by Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team Ducati) showing him some second season light at the end of the tunnel after last year’s long dark race weekends.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the best R1 rider in sixth place, with Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) seventh.

Local rider Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) ended his sprint race in tenth, with America’s Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) crashing out at the T4 hairpin on lap one.

A full distance Race Two, with a mandatory pit-stop in the middle, will round out the WorldSBK action in Australia on Sunday afternoon, and 16.00 local time.

WorldSBK Superpole Race Results