A stunning solo. Nicolò Bulega signs the perfect Sunday at Magny-Cours by taking a solo victory in Race 2 with a race in which he took no prisoners from the start.
Starting well from pole, the Italian rider from the Ducati Aruba.it team took off from the first laps, saying goodbye to his companions and only meeting them again once he crossed the finish line.
Only a solid Danilo Petrucci – first among the privateers with the Ducati Panigale V4 of the Barni Racing team – tried to put pressure on his compatriot, but was unable to keep up the same pace.
For Ducati a very important 1-2, because it continues to certify both the quality of the bike and the growth of Bulega, a rookie increasingly at ease in the category. Now Bulega is the first rival of Toprak Razgatlioglu, 55 points behind the Turk who was forced to miss almost the entire weekend after the accident occurred during free practice.
Rounding out the podium was Garrett Gerloff, who was brilliant in the BMW fight with Michael van der Mark. Gerloff, sneaky in the early stages of the race, completely changed pace from lap 10 onwards. That helped him reach the climax of the race with a better pace than the Dutchman.
Van der Mark, with the second BMW at the finish line, also had to give up fourth place to the unleashed Alex Lowes. The British Kawasaki rider, who started very well but was forced to slip to 15th position probably due to a mistake in downshifting on the first lap.
Lowes, who had the third-best pace after Bulega and Petrucci, recovered position after position until he outwitted van der Mark and finished just off the podium.
Remy Gardner beat Scott Redding and Xavi Vierge, eighth, while it is worth remembering that the French round saw the absence of the three top riders in the category, namely Toprak Razgatlioglu, Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista, but there was no shortage of fights and exciting duels.
What was missing was Andrea Iannone. The rider from Vasto struggled in this heat too, finishing the race outside the Top 10, in 12th position. Michael Ruben Rinaldi also didn’t do well, completing the race behind Iannone, in 15th. Del Bianco was 13th instead.
Too bad for Axel Bassani. The Italian rider of the official Kawasaki team was given a Long Lap Penalty for not losing 1 second after cutting a corner. Axel served the penalty while he was in fourth place, in the thick of the battle with Gerloff and van der Mark for the lowest step of the podium. Instead he finished 11th.
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