SBK Aragon: Bulega outdoes himself, sixth pole with an all-time record!

Lacking real opponents, Nicolò Bulega is now beating himself. At Motorland Aragon he set his sixth pole out of six this season, the fifteenth of his career, shattering the record he set last year. Alberto Surra was also on fire: third-fastest time for the sensational rookie.

In the three previous sessions it seemed that the seasonal conditions in Spain wouldn’t allow a repeat of last September’s performances. Instead, the stunning Nicolò clocked a fantastic 1'46"36, against the previous 1'47"332. The improvement is astonishing: with the current heat, it was an incredible feat. Two details say it all: Bulega improved by six tenths compared to his first attempt (which would have been pole anyway!), and look where the rivals are, among them Iker Lecuona (formerly MotoGP) on the identical Panigale V4 R: second by almost half a second.

Behind the two factory Ducatis emerged the youngster who dropped in from continental Moto2. Well guided by Motocorsa, the Lecco-based outfit that discovered Axel Bassani years ago, Surra set an incredible third-fastest time. It’s a pity he has to start from the last slot for failing to slow under yellow flags in Friday’s first practice. Seeing him on the front row would have been thrilling. Race 1 will be a slog from back there, but then Surra will have the chance to exploit the premium grid in the Superpole Race on Sunday morning.

Surra’s penalty will promote Sam Lowes on the Marc VDS Ducati to the front row, ahead of his twin Alex, the leading man for Bimota. On the second row there’s also Lorenzo Baldassarri, alongside the BMW of Michael van der Mark, who on a single lap remembered that with the same M1000RR a few months ago here Toprak Razgatlioglu won two, getting the better of Nicolò Bulega.

To avoid a full overlap with MotoGP, Race 1 at Motorland Aragon will start earlier at 14:00. The race distance is 18 laps, a punishing length given the particularly scorching temperatures. On Friday at the same time it was 35 °C in the air and a searing 53 °C on the asphalt. It will be a real edge-of-the-limit challenge for the machinery, the riders’ physical endurance, and above all tire durability.

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