Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega says he and the team “have lots of work to do” following WorldSBK testing at Portimao.

Bulega finished the test second fastest behind BMW’s Toprak Razgatlioglu, but the Italian was over half a second down on the reigning world champion’s best lap time. 

The teams faced limited test time due to inclement weather in Portugal, which meant they could only run for half days on each of the two days of testing. 

The championship leader was further restricted following a crash at Turn 11, from which the he was fortunate to walk away uninjured. 

Bulega admitted it was a “difficult” test for the team after earning a treble of race victories in Phillip Island, but emphasised the end of the session showed promise for the upcoming weekend. 

“It was a bit of a difficult test for us because we worked hard to find a good feeling, but it didn’t arrive,” Bulega said to WorldSBK.com.

“This morning [Day 2] I had a big crash on a very fast corner here in Portimao.

“Fortunately, I am good, but it was more difficult to work because we lost some time as a result, then later the rain made it a difficult and strange test.

“At the end of the session, the last 15 minutes, we were a bit better; we still have lots of work to do but in the end, we were a lot better.”

Alvaro Bautista: Ducati made ‘small changes’ in Portimao WorldSBK test

Bulega’s Ducati teammate Alvaro Bautista finished the Portimao test in eighth, over a second behind Razgatlioglu’s best time. 

The Spanish rider elected not to test on Friday and instead opted for half a day’s running on Saturday.

Despite his limited track time, Bautista suggested he “felt good” on the bike but stressed would have to wait to see how it fairs in race condition.

“We were able to do some laps, especially in the morning, we started the day with the same setup that we finished the last round with, in Australia.” said Bautista.

“The feeling was good, I felt good on the bike. We made some small changes but nothing big. In the afternoon with the rain, the feeling was a bit worse because I couldn’t feel the tires as easily.

“In general, in the morning I felt good, the pace wasn’t too bad, but we will have to see what the conditions will be like on the race weekend. We prepared the base setup and we will adapt the package from there.”

READ MORE: Five things we learned from WorldSBK Phillip Island season opener

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Nicolo Bulega hailed his Ducati bike as “perfect” after securing three wins at the WorldSBK Phillip Island round.

The 25-year-old dominated proceedings across the weekend as he racked up the maximum 62 points to kickstart his 2025 campaign.

The Italian completed his first WorldSBK treble and his nearest contender in the championship standings is teammate Alvaro Bautista, who trails 26 points behind.

Bulega topped every session throughout the week, both in pre-season testing and during the race weekend, sending a strong statement to the field.

“I’m really happy because this is my first hat-trick in Superbike,” Bulega told WorldSBK.com after Race 2.

“It’s incredible, an amazing feeling to do it in my favourite track – it’s something special. Now I want to go back home to celebrate.

“I feel very good, very proud of what me and my team did because my bike was perfect from Monday’s test until Sunday and the last lap of Race 2.

“I was able to push every lap of this week, I enjoyed riding every lap.”

Bulega acknowledged a mistake he made in Race 2, which nearly cost him what would have been his elusive third win of the weekend.

He stated: “I braked a bit more inside at turn four and with the knee slider I touched a bit the kerb that is a bit taller than the asphalt and it moves a lot my leg because it blocks my leg on the kerbs.

“When I opened my leg I lost the front and I almost crashed – I made a not bad save with the knee!”

Nicolo Bulega pinpoints two riders who will be a threat at Portimao round

The 2024 series runners-up pinpointed two riders who will be a threat at the second round of the championship in Portimao.

The series returns to the Algarve on the 28th of March, a track where Bulega finished second last season despite battling illness.

“I’m confident, because last year in Portimao I finished second with a lot of fever, so I think we can be competitive again,” the Italian said.

“I think it will be not so easy because Toprak [Razgatlioglu] especially will be very fast in Portimao, but also Alvaro [Bautista] and other riders.

“So, I will try to maintain this level, but I think it’s very difficult.”

READ MORE – Nicolo Bulega seals dominant Australian WorldSBK treble with Race 2 victory

The post Nicolo Bulega hails ‘perfect’ Ducati bike after completing WorldSBK Phillip Island treble appeared first on Motorsport Week.

Aruba.It Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega completed his dominant Australian WorldSBK weekend by taking victory in Race 2 at Phillip Island.

Bulega had been in a league of his own all weekend and sealed a hat trick of victories with a margin of 2.603s over teammate Alvaro Bautista. 

It had been agreed pre-race that the riders may not complete more than 11 laps on a single dry rear tyre due to track temperatures, as the mandatory pit stops remained in place. 

Bulega once again got a fantastic start from pole position and was easily able to hold his lead over Andrea Iannone and Scott Redding on the run down to the first corner.

Bautista was hoping to salvage something after starting 11th and made quick progress on the start to move into seventh place. 

The Spanish rider was followed through by world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, who moved from 12th to eighth in the opening two laps.

Bautista continued to showcase the speed of the Ducati and made an easy double overtake on the Yamaha of Andrea Locatelli and the MarcVDS of Sam Lowes.

The former world champion was soon chasing down the podium positions and made a second double overtake on Redding and Petrucci to go third. 

Razgatlioglu saw an opportunity to make even more progress but made contact with the Barni Spark racer, apologising to Petrucci but keeping hold of fifth place.

The Turkish rider was given a drop one position penalty for his move on Petrucci, which allowed the Italian back through before the first riders made their pit stops.

Redding was able to get the jump on Bautista in the pitlane to move onto the podium, as both riders undercut a group consisting of Razgatlioglu and the high-flying Yari Montella. 

After the pit stops, there was a clear issue with the world champion’s BMW machine as Razgatlioglu dropped out of the points. He came into the pits at the end of the following lap and punched his screen in frustration as he retired from the race.

While BMW struggled with its issues, the factory Ducati team remained perilous, as Bautista made his way back into second with a move on Redding and was followed through by Iannone.

The British rider received a 2.905s time penalty for a pit stop intervention time infringement while running in fourth, which scuppered any chances of making the podium.

The positions on the rostrum were settled with three laps to go, but the remaining battle on the track was for fifth as Lowes and Petrucci fought to the final corner to decide the position.

Out front, Bulega dominated the race to seal his treble of victories in Phillip Island as he took the chequered flag by just over two seconds. 

Bautista recovered from 11th to second to complete an authoritative weekend for the factory Ducati team.

Iannone took third for the GoEleven team after remaining largely untroubled throughout the race.

Redding kept hold of his fourth position despite his penalty, as Petrucci won his battle for fifth over Lowes who had to settle for sixth.  

Locatelli was the highest placed non-Ducati in seventh as he crossed the line just under a tenth clear of Alex Lowes in eighth and Montella in ninth. 

Axel Bassani completed the top ten, seven seconds ahead of the fight between HRC’s Xavi Vierge in 11th and Dominique Aegerter in 12th. 

Garrett Gerloff was 13th while the sole BMW of Michael van der Mark took 14th over the line.

Ryan Vickers completed his debut WorldSBK weekend by rounding out the points in 15th.

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Nicolo Bulega sealed a convincing flag-to-flag WorldSBK Superpole victory at Phillip Island, winning his second race of the weekend.

No rider could reach the levels displayed by the 25-year-old, but Andrea Iannone and Danilo Petrucci finished as his closest challengers to round off the podium list.

All riders started in the same positions as in Race 1, and once again, Bulega sustained his lead into Turn 1.

Iannone and the second Aruba.it Ducati rider of Alvaro Bautista snatched second and third off defending champion Toprak Razgatlioglu from the get-go.

As the field headed into Turn 4 chaos ensued as Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista weren’t able to brake heading into the corner on their respective bikes.

Quite incredibly, both riders were able to avoid crashing into other riders nearby. Fortunately, Razgatlioglu found a small and fortunate spot between Iannone and Bulega to slot his bike towards as he went into the gravel traps.

This incident was well anticipated by Bautista who steered his bike off course into the gravel traps to avoid any further chaos.

Garrett Gerloff and Xavi Vierge crashed out at this very corner, too, but both riders rejoined and avoided injuries. Two laps later HRC rider Vierge was issued a long-lap penalty for irresponsible riding as he was the root cause for this particular incident.

Bautista suffered a crash on Lap 2 himself but later rejoined despite sustaining damage to his V4 Panigale.

Back on track, Bulega established a near-second advantage in the opening half of the race. Behind the Italian were three of the leading satellite Ducati teams as2 Petrucci and Scott Redding squabbled for the final podium spot.

As the leading four riders spaced out by Lap 5, Marc VDS rider Sam Lowes entered the fold after displaying rapid lap times as he caught up to the back of his fellow countryman, Redding.

Razgatlioglu recovered his way through the field to pass WorldSBK rookie Ryan Vickers on Lap 6, though question marks loomed over a potential penalty for his riding on Lap 1.

The Turkish rider will start 10th for Race 2 later in the afternoon as he had not reached ninth place by the end of the race.

After the ten laps, Bulega crossed the line to win once again with ease, where the Italian established a 2.324s advantage to win once again.

Four independent Ducati teams finished in second to fifth place, led by Team GoEleven rider Iannone who made up for his woes in the first race.

Petrucci fended off Redding despite the Brit’s continued pressure, as the 2024 lead independent rider finished one better from Race 1.

Lowes managed an impressive fifth, finishing ahead of Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli who endured a quiet race considering the drama from the start.

Alex Lowes established seventh for Bimota on its return to the Superbike paddock, edging out the second Barni Spark rider of Yari Montella.

Axel Bassani’s ninth-placed finish ensured an impressive top-ten display for both Bimota riders, as the Italian pipped hometown hero Remy Gardner to ensure the best possible start for Race 2 later on today.

Dominique Aegerter finished in 11th place as Razgatlioglu recovered to an uncharacteristic 12th place finish.

Vierge recovered from his fall to finish ahead of the second BMW rider Michael van der Mark, who relinquished multiple positions on the final lap due to bike troubles.

Vickers picked up 15th spot after occupying the vast majority of the race there as he continued his adaption to the series.

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Aruba.It Ducati rider Nicolo Bulega dominated Race 1 of the Australian WorldSBK round to take a commanding victory over the field.

Bulega won the race by just under five seconds ahead of reigning world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu and teammate Alvaro Bautista.

The Italian got away well from pole position and was able to maintain his lead going into the first corner. 

Razgatlioglu made a good initial launch from second on the grid, but the power of the Ducati machinery allowed Andrea Iannone and Bautista to get past the BMW on the rundown to turn 1.

A dramatic first lap further down the field saw Remy Gardner crash out of his home race, but the Yamaha rider was able to quickly rejoin.

Iannone appeared to have a technical issue as he ran wide and dropped from second down to fifth. The Italian continued to struggle on braking throughout the race and fell out of podium contention.

Scott Redding made a fantastic start and pulled a strong move on Bautista to move into the podium positions.

Razgatlioglu soon came under pressure from the British rider and made a mistake into turn 1, which allowed the Ducati trio of Redding, Bautista and Danilo Petrucci all through.

Bautista and Redding made contact a few corners later as the former world champion regained second place from the Brit. 

Razgatlioglu was looking to recover something from a difficult weekend and pulled a strong move on Petrucci, which allowed BMW teammate Michael van der Mark to also take advantage.

Van der Mark seemed the faster of the BMW teammates but crashed out of the race in Turn 1 while trying to force a move on Razgatlioglu.

It was agreed that the riders had to make a pit stop ahead of the weekend due to the unpredictable weather and track temperature at Phillip Island.

The first riders came into the pits with 11 laps to go, with Bulega and Bautista among the first riders to make their stops. 

The tyre change allowed Razgatlioglu to regain some of the momentum he lost after his mistake, as the Turkish rider got the jump on Redding and Bautista in the pitlane.

Bautista had the pace to challenge and was able to pass Redding and Petrucci as he set his sights on Razgatlioglu in second. 

The Spanish former champion continued to press the Turkish rider going onto the final lap of the race, but was unable to find a way through on the world champion. 

Out front, Bulega continued his dominance and took the chequered flag by 4.811s. 

Razgatlioglu was able to hold onto second place ahead of Bautista in third. 

Petrucci was top independent rider for the Barni Spark Racing team in fourth while Redding was fifth for MGM Benovo.

Iannone persisted after his problems early in the race and took sixth place while Andrea Locatelli finished seventh for Yamaha.

The Bimota pairing were eighth and ninth, with Alex Lowes leading Axel Bassani over the line, while Sam Lowes rounded out the top ten for MarcVDS.

Xavi Vierge was 11th for HRC ahead of GYTR GRT Yamaha’s Dominique Aegerter in 12th.

WorldSBK debutant Ryan Vickers was 13th for Motocorsa while Tetsuta Nagashima took 14th. 

Bahattin Sofuoglu was 15th for Motoxracing and took the final point on his WorldSBK debut.

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Aruba.It Ducati rider Nicolo Bulega steamrolled to Superpole success at the WorldSBK season opener in Phillip Island.

The 25-year-old star continued his impressive week down under and produced a stunning lap time of 1.28.824s.

This week Bulega topped the timesheets in all four Free Practice testing sessions, all practice sessions for the race weekend and has secured himself the Superpole.

The 2024 WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu salvaged a second place for BMW despite all its testing woes in pre-season, but that was due to the Turkish rider using the tow of Bulega’s Panigale on one of his time attacks.

Team GoEleven rider Andrea Iannone rounded off the top three, maintaining his impressive pace from the week-long proceedings leading up to qualifying.

As always, the 15-minute session offered limited time for riders to set their fastest laps, determining the full grid for Race 1 later in the day and the Superpole Race on Sunday.

Riders had to go full throttle around the fast-paced streets of Phillip Island, a track notoriously famous for reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour on average.

Team HRC rider Iker Lecuona highsided and crashed out at Turn 9 on his first run, causing a red flag just four minutes into the session. As Lecuona was stretchered off, the marshals cleared the debris from the track.

The pause in action didn’t last long, but with under 11 minutes remaining, riders had even less time to post important lap times.

Given its sheer pace in testing and in the early practice sessions, Ducati’s dominance continued as three further riders locked out the second row. The second factory Ducati rider of Alvaro Bautista qualified fourth, closely followed by the 2024 Independent’s Team champion Danilo Petrucci and Bonovo Racing’s Scott Redding.

The second BMW of Michael van der Mark recorded a steady seventh-place finish for the Bavarian brand, edging out Pata Maxus Yamaha rider Andrea Locatelli in the closing stages.

Kawasaki rider Garrett Gerloff kicked off his new WorldSBK venture with a ninth-place qualification, lapping quicker than Lincolnshire twins Alex and Sam Lowes.

Honda’s Xavi Vierge completed the session in 12th despite his teammates woes, as debutant Yari Montella qualified 13th on the second independent Barni Spark V4.

Axel Bassani settled for 14th spot on Bimota’s welcomed return to the paddock, bettering the lap time of Swiss rider Dominique Aegerter.

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Nicolo Bulega feels Ducati has brought a “strong package” ahead of the WorldSBK season opener at Phillip Island.

Bulega was the runner-up in the series during his debut year in 2024, finishing second to BMW’s Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Due to weather conditions, the Ducati rider had limited testing earlier in pre-season in Portimao and Jerez.

But as the paddock travelled down under ahead of the season opener, the 25-year-old displayed impressive form and finished top of the timesheets in all four Free Practice sessions.

“I improved the feeling from yesterday [Monday], which was already good, so I think we have a strong package to start the race weekend,” he said to WorldSBK.

“I’m happy with how the bike feels—everything is working well at the moment.

“Of course, we still have room for improvement, but I’ve already made a small step forward from yesterday, and if we can take another, that would be great.

“Testing is one thing—it’s important to have a good feeling, but at the end of the day, you don’t score points in testing.

“I’ll start Friday with a positive mindset, knowing we have a strong package, I feel good at this circuit, and the bike is working well here.

“Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going and improve a little more.

I’m really looking forward to the first race of the year—finally, we’re getting started! I have to admit, I don’t enjoy testing that much; I prefer race weekends.

“Testing can get a bit boring, so I’m really excited to start racing.”

Nicolo Bulega predicts ‘interesting’ WorldSBK season opener

Ahead of the season opener, the Italian predicts an ‘interesting’ weekend, with multiple manufacturers likely competing for victories.

While Bulega remained grounded, he picked out five riders who all had a chance of winning races, with two of those riders representing BMW and Yamaha.

“I don’t know if I’m the favourite, I’m just thinking about where I can improve.

“Everyone will improve so I know I need to keep taking steps forward and improving with my team, keeping the good confidence with the bike, and always staying in the first position.

“Lots of riders were fast during the test like Toprak Razgatlioglu, Andrea Iannone, Danilo Petrucci, Andrea Locatelli, Alvaro Bautista, lots of fast guys very close, I think it will be an interesting weekend.”

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Nicolo Bulega believes he or Ducati don’t know the bikes’ performance levels because WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu is absent.

The 2024 championship runners-up dominated the timesheets on Day 1 of the pre-season WorldSBK test at Jerez on Wednesday, posting a lap time of 1.38.731s, the only rider inside the 1.38s bracket.

Despite this, Bulega remains cautiously optimistic about the day’s work, due to Razgatlioglu missing the first test due to nursing a finger injury sustained in training.

The Aruba.It Ducati rider revealed he tried various parts throughout the test by having different setups on different bikes.

“We cannot see the real level,” Bulega disclosed to Crash.net. “I was fast but Toprak was not here!

“Last year he was the fastest guy so we have to check his lap times and his feeling with the bike.

“Last year, in the race week, when he was here, I was quite good. I am looking forward to seeing him on track again, then we’ll see…

“We tried something different with the set-up, and also for my body position to be more comfortable on the bike.

“Some parts I liked, some parts [I did not]. We need a mixture for the next day. If we can put it all together, we have a good package.

“I will try to do a longer run [on Thursday]. We just tried something different in both bikes. It was faster for the mechanics,” he explained.

Nicolo Bulega admits ‘it’s great to be back’ ahead of new WorldSBK season

Bulega’s lap time of 1.38.731s secured first place in the testing classification charts, as he was the first rider to dip into the 1.39s and 1.38s bracket.

His performance sees him as the man to beat amongst the Ducatis, with Andrea Iannone and Scott Redding rounding off the top three for Team Pata GoEleven and MGM Bonovo Racing.

“It’s good to be back with a great feeling,” Bulega said after the first day of testing.

“It was difficult because of the wind. I was more focused on the wind than on what I was doing with the bike, so it was strange.

“But I am happy to start the new year with the same good feeling.”

Bulega will aim to improve on his debut season and become a first-time WorldSBK champion, after coming runners-up to Razgatlioglu.

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Nicolo Bulega completed the WorldSBK Jerez Superpole comfortably over BMW’s Toprak Razgatlioglu to complete the double.

A small battle on track allowed the Italian to clear off into the distance, and he will have a chance of completing his first WorldSBK treble later on Sunday afternoon.

Similarly to Race 1 on Saturday, Bulega and Razgatlioglu maintained the opening two places and cleared off into the distance.

Kawasaki’s Alex Lowes and Barni Spark’s Danilo Petrucci occupied third and fourth in the earlier phases of the race, with both riders contesting for fourth place in the championship.

On Lap 2, Razgatlioglu lunged his way through on the V4 Ducati at Turn 5 and managed to hang on down the back straight with his overpowered late braking into Turn 6.

Behind the top four scoring positions, Honda riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge crashed in what appeared to be separate incidents at Turn 6. Still, the former had a significant impact with the Japanese bike in the gravel trap. A disastrous end to the season for Honda after its rise up the grid.

Ducati’s Bulega forged his way back up the inside on Turn 5 on Lap 6 and went on to bank the fastest Lap of the race in the process as the Italian stagnated Razgatlioglu’s exit heading into the Turn 6 hairpin.

Ducati’s superiority at Jerez continued as Bulega cleared into the distance to claim another victory and bolster his rookie campaign success.

His team-mate Alvaro Bautista fell to 17th after a torrid start to the race but worked his way up the field to claim a crucial ninth place to boost his Race 2 result chances.

The two-time champion sealed crucial moves on Jonathan Rea and Dominique Aegerter to snatch that final Superpole point off the Yamaha riders.

Out front Bulega wrapped up the win in style to complete the double ahead of championship winner Razgatlioglu.

Third and fourth place remained unchanged, with Lowes fending off Petrucci across the whole ten-lap contest and is on the brink of keeping hold of fourth place in the championship.

Andrea Locatelli finished once more as lead Yamaha rider with the BMW duo of Michael van der Mark and Garrett Gerloff closing out sixth and seven spots.

Andrea Iannone and Bautista salvaged the two final points-scoring positions ahead of Yamaha riders Aegerter and Rea.

Bonovo’s Redding finished in 12th ahead of the departing Michael Ruben Rinaldi, as the duo raised their game to hold off the Kawasaki duo of Axel Bassani and Tito Rabat.

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Nicolo Bulega dominated to the Race 1 victory at Jerez, and Toprak Razgatlioglu crowned himself the two-time WorldSBK champion.

The Italian rider led from start to finish and dominated proceedings, while the Turkish rider became the 11th different rider to win multiple championships in the series’ 36-year history.

Bulega and Razgatlioglu maintained first and second into Turn 1, with both riders pulling away into the distance.

A chaotic Lap 1 saw Sam Lowes and Danilo Petrucci caught up in the middle of Turn 3 before the Italian crashed out of proceedings a few corners later.

Both Tommy Bridewell and Tarran Mackenzie crashed out on the opening Lap, as both BSB champions were forced to have an early bath.

Alvaro Bautista recovered from 15th in qualifying to 10th place, but on Lap 2, he crashed out at Turn 6. He recovered his V4 from the gravel traps, but it had partial damage, and he rejoined in dead last.

Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda battled hard for third place in the early phases, with Locatelli maintaining the last podium spot after a sensational start in the early phases.

Iker Lecuona and Alex Lowes were right behind his tail, but the leading duo of Bulega and Razgatlioglu had already forged a multiple-second advantage out front.

By Lap 6, the gap stretched as far as 4.5s, and the duo showed why they were the distant leaders in the championship.

Bulega’s Ducati was strongest in the second and final sector, but the Turkish rider aboard his BMW had the edge in the first and third sectors. The gap remained within half a second throughout.

Further down, Michael Ruben Rinaldi was forced to retire the bike due to technical issues that piled on the misery in his last World outing. He occupied ninth place in the classification before the Ducati rider retired.

Jonathan Rea made aggressive moves on fellow Brit Scott Redding and Italian Andrea Iannone to snatch 11th spot after another disheartening Saturday Superpole.

Bautista crashed for a second time on the third to last Lap at Turn 2, with the two-time WorldSBK champion’s tenure officially ending as the sport’s number one.

Bulega got into the groove in the midway period of the race to formulate a 2.3s advantage over Razgatlioglu, with Ducati’s advantage around the circuit now covering all areas.

Bulega’s advantage extended with every Lap, but the Turkish BMW rider appeared to settle for second to ensure he wrapped up the title.

Bulega eventually forged a gap over 4.5s over Razgatlioglu to win Race 1 in dominant style.

To his full credit, the rookie gave his best efforts and took the championship fight to the season’s final round.

Still, Razgatlioglu’s dominance across 2024 told the story with unmatched consistency, with the Turkish rider winning in his first season with the Bavarian manufacturer.

The duo crossed the line first and second with Locatelli over ten seconds adrift of the Ducati winner as the Yamaha rider made amends from his crash at Estoril last weekend.

Lowes and Kawasaki reclaimed the fourth spot in the standings thanks to a fourth-placed finish, with Lecuona and Michael van der Mark ending their respective races in close proximity to the Brit.

Xavi Vierge endured a quiet race to finish seventh place, ahead of Axel Bassani who recovered from a difficult start to finish eighth for the factory Kawasaki.

Dominique Aegerter recovered from last round’s absence to secure ninth for Yamaha ahead of BMW’s Garrett Gerloff.

Yamaha’s Rea cemented 11th who finished ahead of Iannone and Lowes after completing the two overtakes earlier in the race.

Scott Redding and Tetsuta Nagashima secured the final two-point scoring positions as the pair finished 14th and 15th.

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