Different tyre strategies, epic battles and more: Bulega, Lecuona and Sam Lowes on stunning Superpole Race<\/p>\n
Different tyre choices made the Superpole Race a spectacle and the top three from that fight have reacted to their incredible duel<\/p>\n
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), teammate Iker Lecuona and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) put on a show at MotorLand Aragon in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. The trio, along with Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) in the first half of the Tissot Superpole Race, fought tooth and nail for victory in a fight that would go down to the last lap in the 10-lap race on Sunday during the Aragon Round.<\/p>\n
NON-STOP ACTION<\/p>\n
Bulega opted to run the SC0 tyre in the 10-lap race, and that put him on the backfoot in the first half of the race compared to Lecuona, Lowes and Surra who were all running the SCX. Surra battled Lecuona for the lead in the early laps before the #7 started to escape, but Lowes was on the charge as he moved ahead of the #67 for P2 and then battled Lecuona for the lead \u2013 including the pair making contact at Turn 11 on Lap 3. Behind them, Bulega was building into his rhythm and started carving his way into the lead, eventually going from third to first at the start of Lap 5 at Turn 1. He wasn\u2019t able to hold the lead after that as Lecuona went in search of a first WorldSBK win, and their fight concluded at the start of Lap 10 as Bulega got ahead of his teammate at Turn 1. You can watch the full fight below.<\/p>\n
THE STATS FROM THE SUPERPOLE RACE<\/p>\n
Incredibly, Bulega only led across the line on two occasions: at the end of Lap 9 and at the end of Lap 10. In comparison, Bulega was the leader across the line at the end of Laps 1-4 and 6-8, with Lowes leading at the end of Lap 5. The gap covering the top four \u2013 which included Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) as well \u2013 was only over a second on two occasions: Lap 9 (Surra 1.538s back after \u2018Balda\u2019 crashed at Turn 5) and Lap 10 (Surra was 2.640s back). For Bulega, it was his 21st win in a row, while Lecuona made it 14 consecutive P2 finishes, extending the record. He also continued the streak of podiums without victory, now at 16, an all-time record. Lowes secured his 10thWorldSBK rostrum, while Surra took his best WorldSBK result with P4.<\/p>\n
\u201cI DID IT, SO I THINK THE STRATEGY WAS GOOD\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on the incredible race, Bulega said: \u201cI decided to put the harder tyre because I knew in the last two or three laps, I could have an advantage. It was a bit on the limit. The SCX tyre was working very well with other riders, so I had to put everything on the table to bring home one more win. In the end, I did it, so I think the strategy was good.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI THINK IT WAS THE CORRECT CHOICE; WE TOOK THE RISK\u201d<\/p>\n
From his side, Lecuona said: \u201cI changed my plan in the Superpole Race, to not go with the same as Nicolo. I went with the soft tyre even though I knew I\u2019d drop. The intention was to slow the race. I wanted to do that to save the tyre and try in the last laps to beat Nicolo. We had a good fight with Sam, Surra and Nicolo. I enjoyed it a lot. It was a bit frustrating, but I\u2019m very happy, because at the end of the race with the soft tyre, we had a bit more. He had a little bit more; I tried but couldn\u2019t catch him. We took the risk and we enjoyed it. We fought almost until the last corner for the victory. Maybe if I used the SC0, it could\u2019ve been different as Nicolo went wide at Turn 1, but I think it was the correct choice; we took the risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIT WAS AN ENJOYABLE RACE, AND I FEEL LIKE I\u2019M RIDING BETTER AND BETTER\u201d<\/p>\n
After finishing third, the #14 stated: \u201cI really enjoyed the Superpole Race, it was a nice battle. Bulega was really fast with the SC0 tyre, but I think it was a nice race to watch for everybody. I led one lap and was fighting, so this is nice and enjoyable. The first time I looked at my pit board was with one lap to go, so when the race is like this, it\u2019s nice. I made a few mistakes. On one lap, when I got ahead of Iker, I did three good sectors. If I could\u2019ve just led into the last corner, I felt like I had a little bit more speed. Not for the whole race but to stretch it a little bit. It was an enjoyable race, and I feel like I\u2019m riding better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n