Nicolo Bulega cuts Toprak Razgatlioglu's World Superbike title lead as Danilo Petrucci seals double at Cremona in Italy
Italy’s Nicolo Bulega has closed the gap in the World Superbike title race to 29 points with one race still remaining on Sunday at Cremona in Italy.
The Aruba.it Ducati rider finished fourth in the Sprint race as Danilo Petrucci, who clinched his debut victory in the championship, made it a double on the Barni Spark Ducati.
With Toprak Razgatlioglu out injured this weekend, Bulega has taken a significant chunk out of the factory BMW rider’s title lead.
The reigning World Supersport champion finished as the runner-up in Saturday’s opening race and is set to slash the deficit further in Race 2 (13:00 BST) at the ninth round of 12.
Northern Ireland’s Jonathan Rea is also missing at the Italian round as he recovers from surgery after injuring his right thumb in a crash in the previous round at Magny-Cours in France, where Razgatlioglu sustained a collapsed lung in an incident in free practice.
Razgatlioglu had won a record 13 races in a row before the crash in France to open a commanding advantage in the championship, but the 27-year-old will now face a battle with Bulega to win a second world crown as he bids to return at the next round at Motorland Aragon in Spain next weekend.
Petrucci won the Superpole race by 1.8s from England’s Alex Lows (Kawasaki Racing Team), with Andrea Iannone in third on the Team Go Eleven Ducati ahead of Bulega.
Team HRC rider Iker Lecuona and Bulega’s Ducati team-mate and reigning champion Alvaro Bautista completed the top six.
British Superbike champion Tommy Bridewell, competing as a wildcard, was 21st for Honda Racing UK.