Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) delivered a dominant performance to secure his first pole position in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship since Misano, 104 days ago, shattering the outright lap record at MotorLand Aragón. Championship leader Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) will line up second for Race 1 of the Aragón Tissot Round, while Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) completed the front row.
Razgatlioglu set the early benchmark with a 1’47.944, the first sub-1’48 of the weekend, to claim provisional pole. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Jonathan Rea followed closely, but their hopes were short-lived as Bulega smashed the lap record with a 1’47.655. The Turkish star responded by closing the gap to 0.163s, while Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) slotted into third.
The Ducati rider raised the bar again, posting a blistering 1’47.332 to seal his eighth career pole and his second consecutive at Aragón. Razgatlioglu improved to 1’47.442 but could not topple the Italian. Alex Lowes secured third on the Bimota, underlining the bike’s growing competitiveness.
Sam Lowes will head the second row in fourth with a 1’47.550, just two tenths off pole, followed by Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) in fifth. Álvaro Bautista claimed sixth place, his best Superpole since Cremona. The Spaniard, usually strong in Aragón, starts outside the front row for the first time with Ducati but remains a serious podium contender thanks to his race pace.
Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven), fastest in FP3, could do no better than seventh with a 1’47.839. Jonathan Rea was eighth, with Locatelli close behind in ninth. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha) rounded out the top 10. Axel Bassani, initially 11th, will start last after receiving a penalty for ignoring yellow flags in FP2.
Top 6 – Aragón Superpole
- Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’47.332
- Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.110
- Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.159
- Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.218
- Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.430
- Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.488