WSBK Superbike Misano: Nicolo Bulega and Axel Bassani will not go on holiday together...

When Superpole race In the sixth round of the Superbike World Championship at Misano, an incident occurred during the first braking of the lap between Axel Bassani and Nicolo Bulega, resulting in the retirement of both riders.

From a first line composed of Nicholas Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), the KB998 Rimini rider got off to a particularly good start, managing to overtake the BMW #1 before losing the front end under braking, bringing down the official Ducati Panigale V4R, which is fighting for the world title.

Perhaps if it had happened at the back of the grid, Race Direction would have considered it a simple racing incident, but by mowing down the leader of a championship that is only played out between two men, Axel Bassani drew the wrong card and was given two 'Long Laps' in the following race. Obviously, the poleman Nicolo Bulega loses big in the story, probably 9 or 12 points which could prove valuable at the end of the season.

So he didn't chew his motorcycles, on the official website MotoGP.com : “He said he lost the front while braking. But when I watched the video, I saw he lost the front because he touched me. If he hadn't touched me, he wouldn't have lost the front. He didn't have the pace to win, so why make a stupid overtake in the first corner? You can't win the race in the first corner. It's a rookie mistake. Even worse, he didn't come to apologize to me, he just posted an Instagram story for the fans. That's not enough. And then, out of respect for my team, who had to repair the bike from top to bottom. I completely destroyed the bike and the chassis. There's a lot of damage. The least he can do is apologize to me and my team. An Instagram story is not enough. He just said, 'I locked the front while braking,' an apology for what happened.” When you see the video, there's no need for excuses. When you lose, you lose."

We understand the anger of the person concerned, who was then playing a big game against the reigning world champion, even if the videos of the race show that the Bimota rider did indeed lose the front before the contact and that he immediately went to apologize in the gravel trap. His version of events is therefore closer to the truth, even if his words "He closed the door on me." imply that his compatriot is partly responsible for what happened.
Ah, those pilots…

“I felt like I braked at the right time, but I braked hard because there was me, Bulega, and Toprak. I tried to defend my position. I couldn't slow down when Bulega braked. He closed the door on me. I tried everything to stop and not hit him, but I lost the front and we fell. I'm really sorry because I know I made him fall and he's fighting for the championship, unlike me. For me, it's a crash, but for him, it's much more than that. I'm sorry for him, for his team, and for mine. I told him I was sorry in the gravel, two, three, four times. After the race, I stayed in the office because I felt really bad.” I didn't have the energy to go see him to apologize because I was also thinking about Race 2. If I have the opportunity to talk to him, no problem, I will talk to him. It was my fault, I took my penalty in Race 2 and I accept it.

Misano Bulega Bassani