WSBK Cremona 2025: Another Perfect Weekend for Nicolo Bulega
The fourth round of the season at Italy’s Cremona circuit once again showcased the complete dominance of Nicolo Bulega, who, barring disaster, looks increasingly likely to claim his first WorldSBK title this year.
May 4, 2025.
By Venancio Luis Nieto
Photos: Dorna WSBK
Few would dispute at this early point in the season that Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) is the strongest rider on the grid, showing an early dominance that even reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) — arguably the most talented rider in the paddock — has been unable to counter. Against the combined force of Bulega and Ducati, talent alone doesn’t seem to be enough.
This second visit to Cremona coincided with the return of former champion Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) after his pre-season injury. Last year, when Cremona made its debut on the calendar, it was Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) who took a hat-trick of wins. The circuit, just under 4 km long, is short and twisty — not a layout that suited either Bulega or Razgatlioglu in 2024.
After Bulega’s double DNF at Assen due to mysterious technical issues with his Panigale V4, there was no sign of problems this time. His championship lead has now grown from 21 to 34 points over Toprak, who finished second in all three races — consistently close on paper, but never truly in a position to challenge.
Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), whose season started inconsistently, bounced back from three crashes on Friday to remind everyone he’s still one of the top three riders in the field — though it’s clear he’s not quite operating in the same dimension as the leading duo.
Bulega set the tone from FP1 and, apart from FP3, never let go of the top spot across all sessions — practice, qualifying, and races — including a 1’27.866 lap in Superpole.
Race 1
The Italian on the factory Ducati led from the start, with Razgatlioglu and Bautista close behind. From the first lap, the leading trio began pulling away. After his form in practice, most expected Bulega to break clear early — most, but not Razgatlioglu. The Turk surprised everyone by slicing past Bulega with a bold early move, signalling his intent to fight.
What followed was a game of cat-and-mouse, as Toprak tried to prevent Bulega from getting clean air. The duel didn’t slow them down; on the contrary, they traded fastest laps while Bautista held third, gradually falling back.
Video: WSBK.com
Behind the leaders, Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven), Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha), Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC), Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC), Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW), and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS) — who’d started from P2 — formed a lively group.
Razgatlioglu managed to hold off Bulega initially, but a small error gave the Italian the breathing room he needed. From there, Toprak couldn’t respond.
With the top three settled, the fight for fourth heated up. Lecuona broke free of Iannone briefly, gaining half a second, but crashed out in Turn 3. Iannone then faced pressure from Gardner and Vierge.
By the final lap, Bulega led Toprak by over three seconds, with Bautista eight seconds further back, and Iannone another eleven behind. He took fourth ahead of Vierge, Gardner, Petrucci, Van der Mark, Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki), and Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing).
Superpole Race
After Saturday’s results, Sunday morning’s Superpole Race seemed predictable — and it was, but with a key difference.
Whereas in Race 1 Toprak had been able to challenge early on, this time Bulega shut the door from the start, using the Ducati’s power to prevent any threat.
Bautista again ran in third, unable to stay with the leading pair. He was followed closely by Iannone, Sam Lowes — who again had a poor start — Vierge, Assen Race 2 winner Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha), Petrucci, Van der Mark, Redding, Lecuona, Gardner, and Rea.
Although Bulega set the pace, Toprak did his best to keep up. Bautista dropped back once again, this time within reach of Iannone and Lowes.
But Iannone’s charge ended when he was handed a double long-lap penalty for a jump start. After serving it, he rejoined in ninth, just ahead of Lecuona.
Lowes then became the lone chaser of Bautista, with Vierge in fifth holding off Petrucci and Locatelli.
With few battles left, the main suspense was whether Lowes could close the half-second gap to Bautista for a shot at the podium.
In the end, Bulega won again — a little over a second ahead of Razgatlioglu, who could do nothing but watch his main rival extend his lead. Bautista came home third, keeping Lowes at bay.
Race 2
Like Groundhog Day, Sunday’s second full-length race saw Bulega lead again, trailed by Razgatlioglu and Bautista. Vierge, Locatelli and Petrucci followed closely.
Toprak wasn’t ready to concede and attacked as early as possible. Bulega, however, opted not to engage — staying comfortably on the BMW rider’s tail.
Bautista held third, trying not to lose the lead duo’s draft. Behind, Lowes (starting from row two this time), Iannone, Van der Mark and Lecuona completed the top ten.
Then Bulega decided he’d had enough and retook the lead with a clean move at Turn 1. Bautista couldn’t follow and once again found himself alone in third.
Bulega began to pull away. Petrucci moved into fourth, ahead of Vierge.
Further back, Iannone, Lecuona and Van der Mark battled it out until Lecuona broke away to chase Lowes and Locatelli. In the closing laps, he passed Locatelli.
Petrucci had secured fourth by the final stages, while Lowes, Lecuona, and Vierge engaged in a thrilling scrap behind, finishing in that order.
Video: WSBK.com
As mentioned at the start, the explosive effectiveness of the Bulega–Ducati pairing currently seems unrivalled. Like Bautista in his peak years, Bulega is extracting the full potential of the Panigale and laying down the law.
It’s clear he’s taken the upper hand — and if not for the unexplained issues at Assen, his lead would likely be even bigger.
A shame, really, that Razgatlioglu and Bautista weren’t closer on track this weekend, because the racing would’ve been even more exciting.
The next WSBK round will take place at the Most circuit in the Czech Republic from May 16–18.
Opening photo: Nicolo Bulega won all three races at Cremona, just as he did in the season opener at Phillip Island.
