WSBK Superbike Misano FP2: Nicolo Bulega takes the lead, Toprak Razgatlioglu less scary

During FP2 of the WorldSBK Superbike World Championship on Friday at Misano, the Ducati rider Nicholas Bulega reached the summit: the fight with Toprak Razgatlioglu is more intense than ever. And behind it, a superb Montella emerges.

De Paul Gozzi / Corsedimoto.com

Behind the scenes of Superbike, feelings are mixed. Nicolo is really angry,” one of his colleagues told us after the first tests at Misano. And why? "Nothing, the Ducati is great. But the other rider is in front (Toprak Razgatlioglu, editor's note) and he doesn't like it, Nic wants to be in front . » Two hours later, during the closing Friday session, Bulega gave his all as if the race had taken place today. Despite the asphalt being over scalding hot at over 50°C, he clocked a time of 1'32"722, just seven tenths off the Misano record set last year on ultra-soft tires by his Turkish rival. For Razgatlioglu, the morning's benchmark holder, the bar suddenly became too high: 190 thousandths of a second behind. The Ducati roared, we'll see in Race 1 on Saturday...

For Nicolò Bulega, the seventh?
On the Ducati circuit, Nicholas Bulega can secure the seventh Superpole of his career. But the fate of the weekend on the Adriatic coast remains uncertain. The heat will play a fundamental role and grip, as always, will be the deciding factor: between Nic and Toprak, who will be the smoothest with the Pirelli tires? The race pace is identical, and it is very likely that we will see new tough duels, like those in Most. Bulega's overtaking in the sprint, when Razgatlioglu was convinced he had already won Race 2, is still as painful as ever. The balance is more uncertain than ever. Remember that Bulega has a 31-point lead in the World Championship.

Who will go to Ducati instead of Alvaro Bautista?
Market rumors are circulating on paddock radio, and it's impossible to be otherwise, as two places are becoming available in the best teams of the moment: Ducati and BMW. Stefano Cecconi , CEO of Aruba.IT and owner of the official Ducati Superbike team, shuffles the cards. We are open to all solutions: a new name, a promising young driver or an already experienced driver,” dodges the Arezzo manager. A choice " natural » seems to be Jack Miller, assuming he leaves MotoGP, given that Pramac Yamaha will have to make way for newcomer Toprak Razgatlioglu. This choice is closely linked to economic considerations: the contracts of the Superbike riders (with a few exceptions...) are the responsibility of Aruba.it, which has never done anything crazy. The market is changing.

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Paul Gozzi

Classification credit: WorldSBK.com

Superbike Misano FP2