WSBK Superbike Estoril FP2: Bulega won't bow out, Toprak will have to sweat!

Nicholas Bulega was the fastest in FP2 of the Superbike World Championship in Estoril, Portugal.

De Paul Gozzi / Corsedimoto.com

Nicholas Bulega finished Friday in the lead at Estoril, putting his rival in his place Toprak Razgatlioglu, who had dominated the first morning session. The duel for the title between BMW and Ducati remains hot: the Turkish ace maintains a 36-point lead with 124 remaining, but nothing is decided.
The first battle of the weekend will take place on Saturday, and even though Toprak seems to have a slight advantage, he will have to sweat to confirm it.

Ducati vs. BMW: A knife fight
Toprak Razgatlioglu continued the morning attack, focusing on race pace rather than pure performance, in the second session. The Turkish driver was careful to push his tires as far as possible in preparation for Sunday's long distances.
For its part, Nicholas Bulega did a similar job, but came in just three tenths off the Estoril circuit record he himself set last year in the Superpole Race, a time achieved then with a typical sprint race setup (tyres and bike setup optimized for the short distance).
These performances confirm Ducati's good form, with Bulega determined to play all his cards in this almost impossible duel against the exceptional talent of Razgatlioglu, who many already see on his way to MotoGP in 2026.

Jonathan Rea, the old lion, roars again
In Estoril, Jonathan Rhea celebrated his sixth and final world title here in 2020, when he was still a Kawasaki rider. Five years later, at 38, the Northern Irishman proved he hasn't lost any of his talent with a solid Friday, worthy of his best years.
His gradual withdrawal from the championship leaves a bitter taste: on a grid where courageous workers coexist with "paying" riders without a real future, Rea could still have shone for a long time.
But Yamaha's technical difficulties and some misunderstandings with his team ended up making him lose motivation.

Big fall for Iker Lecuona
The 25-year-old Honda rider was making his comeback after the injury he suffered at the end of July at Balaton Park, during the collision triggered by Andrea IannoneUnfortunately, this Friday didn't last long for him.
Coming out of the first corner, his Honda slipped out of his hands as if it were driving on ice: a medium-speed but spectacular fall. Lecuona escaped unscathed, unlike his CBR-RR, which was destroyed in the gravel trap.
In ten days, the Spaniard will ride the official Ducati, which arouses general curiosity: not only do people wonder how fast he will go, but also if he will finally manage to stop falling.

Petrucci, the bad luck continues
Danilo Petrucci had to withdraw after the first session, suffering a fracture of the fourth metacarpal in his right hand. Breaking your hand while working out at the gym is not common, but the Italian seems to be a stickler for bad luck.
This Portuguese event is lost, but the worst is yet to come: Superbike racing will resume in a week in Jerez, Andalusia. And above all, on October 21, two days after the end of the championship, Petrucci was due to take his first test ride on the BMW.
This accident threatens to compromise this test. His next opportunity would not come until the end of November, still in Jerez.

Read the original article on Corsedimoto.com
Paul Gozzi

Classification credit: WorldSBK.com

Estoril FP2 Superbike Estoril FP2 Superbike