Petrucci conquers WorldSBK Cremona Superpole race, Bautista recovers to sixth

Danilo Petrucci dominated the WorldSBK Cremona Superpole race, taking the lead of the race in the opening couple of corners and riding into the distance unchallenged by the rest of the field.

Petrucci would make a great start aboard his Ducati Panigale, taking the lead from Nicolo Bulega, who also dropped a few places to Alex Lowes and Andrea Iannone. Meanwhile, Alvaro Bautista attempted to recover from well outside the Top 10. After a slow start, Bautista would begin closing the gap to the leading riders at the front of the field.

Petrucci would remain unchallenged as the Italian steadily built the gap to a few seconds, with Iannone the next rider behind. The pair of Team HRC riders, Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge, would duel for a few laps, continuing their battle from Race 1, neither rider quite able to catch some of the riders in front.

As Bautista entered the Top 10, the Spaniard would quickly dispatch of Garrett Gerloff, Xavi Vierge and eventually on the final lap, Andrea Locatelli as the reigning champion came home to finish in a strong sixth place, therefore lining up on the grid for Race 2 in sixth as well.

In the closing stages of the race, Nicolo Bulega would close onto the rear of his fellow Ducati rider Andrea Iannone, with Bulega lining up a move into Turn 8’s long left-hander, the Italian running a wider line on entry to the corner and looking to get a strong exit. However, Bulega would be sat up on the inside of Turn 8, as Alex Lowes’ Kawasaki went up the inside of Bulega and took third place.

A shake of the head from Bulega, who needs to maximise his potential this weekend to ensure he closes in the championship to the currently absent Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Eventually, Danilo Petrucci would bring his Ducati to the chequered flag to take a dominant victory at Cremona, the Italian will therefore line up on pole position for Race 2 later on Sunday afternoon. Andrea Iannone would finish in second, a solid performance from the Italian, as Alex Lowes managed to finish ahead of Bulega for third place.

Bulega closes the gap to Toprak Razgatlioglu to just 29 points, with one race remaining this weekend and a potential to score 25 points. The World Superbike Championship Cremona Race 2 starts at 13:00 UK time.

WorldSBK Cremona Superpole Results – and Race 2 Starting Grid

1st Danilo Petrucci, Ducati
2nd Andrea Iannone, Ducati
3rd Alex Lowes, Kawasaki
4th Nicolo Bulega, Ducati
5th Iker Lecuona, Honda
6th Alvaro Bautista, Ducati
7th Andrea Locatelli, Yamaha
8th Xavi Vierge, Honda
9th Garrett Gerloff, BMW
10th Tito Rabat, Kawasaki
11th Axel Bassani, Kawasaki
12th Michael van der Mark, BMW
13th Scott Redding, BMW
14th Sam Lowes, Ducati
15th Bradley Ray, Yamaha
16th Markus Reiterberger, BMW
17th Michael Ruben Rinaldi, Ducati
18th Nico Canepa, Yamaha
19th Philipp Oettl, Yamaha
20th Alessandro Delbianco, Yamaha
21st Tommy Bridewell, Honda
22nd Miguel Ivo Lopez, Honda
23rd Tarran Mackenzie, Honda
DNF Remy Gardner, Yamaha
DNF Marvin Fritz, Yamaha

Featured Image: Ducati Corse Media