SBK Cremona: Lecuona wins Race 1, Bulega's celebration is postponed

Throughout the championship Nicolò Bulega has made short work of his garage mate Iker Lecuona, but the wind shifted right on the weekend of the anticipated World title celebration. The Spaniard looked phenomenal on the eve and in Race 1 he dominated, forcing the season’s ruler for the first time onto the defensive.

"If I see that Iker has more, I won’t take risks" Nicolò had said before the start. An honest statement, because that’s exactly how it played out on track. The strategy is clear: Bulega will be champion here in Cremona with two rounds to spare even if he finishes behind his teammate in the next two contests. Iker rocketed away from pole, Bulega held the blow for four laps, answering the rival’s pace shot for shot. After a troubled Friday, with two crashes that affected both sessions, Nicolò eased off, letting it go for the first time after 27 hard-fought races. In his only other defeat, at Donington in Race 1, he fought it out to the last corner. Here it wasn’t worth complicating things. The lead drops to 141 points, so the party is just postponed.

Franco Morbidelli will replace Nicolò Bulega in the swap between the Aruba and VR46 MotoGP teams. The former Moto2 world champion steps into the snake’s den, because Iker Lecuona is steadily raising the bar; he’s already shown what he’s made of in his strong MotoGP cameos with the Gresini team. In Hungary he finished seventh, just to say. Bulega, with a string of consecutive wins, has been a fantastic school for Iker, who meanwhile is enjoying his second victory on the factory Ducati. Keep this up and many more will follow, likely already on Cremona’s second day. On the small Cremona circuit everything has been ready for days for the World celebration, but they’ll have to reckon right to the end with the squire who’s become a prince.

It could have been a magical day for Yari Montella and Alberto Surra, but both squandered the chance with crashes. The rider from Campania started on fire, tucking into Lecuona’s slipstream, only to go down exiting the last corner. He got going again, but fell once more: a Saturday to forget as soon as possible on a track that has never brought him much luck. Surra was solidly third, but the 22-year-old rookie also slipped off. We’ll talk about it again on Sunday. The incidents shortened the Ducati train at the front, with Sam Lowes and Lorenzo Baldassari crowning the two factory riders. Even when the Ducatisti make mistakes, the others are left with crumbs: Gerloff on the Kawasaki, Alex Lowes on the Bimota, and Andrea Locatelli all finished over twenty seconds back. The gap between Ducati and the rest remains a chasm.

There are eight races left to run, with a total of 161 points still up for grabs. To wrap it up in the Superpole Race (Sunday at 11:00, 10 laps) Bulega must win and hope Lecuona scores no more than two points. More likely, the verdict could come in Race 2: Bulega will be comfortably champion by finishing second every time, even if Lecuona takes maximum points.

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