Nicolo Bulega ended Toprak Razgatlioglu’s hopes of a Most WorldSBK treble by edging him out in a photo finish to win Race 2.
The championship leader picked up his first-ever win in the Czech Republic, crossing the line only 0.027s ahead of his rival.
Bulega launched off the line successfully to take the lead into Turn 1 ahead of Razgatlioglu.
Sam Lowes elevated himself to third place as he overtook Barni Spark Racing rider Danilo Petrucci.
Pata Maxus Yamaha rider Jonathan Rea stormed his way up to fifth from 14th into Turn 1 but clattered into factory Ducati rider Alvaro Bautista, who retired alongside Honda’s Xavi Vierge.
The incident was soon under investigation before a double-long-lap penalty was given for irresponsible riding.
After Lap 3, both Bulega and Razgatlioglu established a 2.5s lead over Lowes, once again showing the ridiculous advantage both riders have over the rest of the field.
The gap stretched even further to 4.5s by the end of Lap 5, but the Italian out front maintained the lead in the first section of the race.
Rea rejoined the race in 12th after completing his two long-lap penalties, dropping a total of seven positions.
Bulega maintained the lead as the race laps reached double figures, clearly showing that Ducati made some improvements to its V4 R Panigale within the last 24 hours.
Only a couple of bike lengths separated the leading duo, but at this stage, it looked like Razgatlioglu had no answer to the Ducati.
But all changed on Lap 11 at Turn 16, where the Turkish rider exploited the Italian’s weakness to take the lead for the first time.
His lead only lasted for six corners as Bulega launched his way through into Turn 1 on the next lap, showing the monster straight-line speed advantage of the Panigale.
A successful block pass at Turn 3 from Razgatlioglu caught Bulega napping, before gaining a 0.5s advantage by the end of the lap to halt a possible move on the start-finish straight.
On that same lap, Petrucci forced his way past Lowes at Turn 15 to reclaim the final podium position.
Intense drama unfolded in the final laps as Bulega caught up to the back of Razgatlioglu, but he didn’t make a move until he outdragged the Bavarian bike to the finish line.
The Italian’s win was in similar vein to his win at Estoril in 2024, picking up a crucial win to extend his championship advantage once again.
Razgatlioglu narrowly missed out on back-to-back Most trebles, with the BMW rider nearly walking away with the maximum 62 points.
Petrucci crossed the line to round off the podium spaces but finished 16 seconds down the road, further showcasing the immense speed of the lead duo.
Marc VDS rider Lowes secured fourth place, ahead of lead Yamaha rider Remy Gardner and Bimota’s Axel Bassani, who gained seven positions.
Iker Lecuona endured a quiet race to finish seventh for Honda, while Barni Spark Racing’s Yari Montella outdragged Andrea Locatelli right at the end to secure eighth.
Garrett Gerloff rounded off the top ten for Kawasaki, before the battle between Dominique Aegerter and Scott Redding reached its climax as both riders secured 11th and 12th.
Rea claimed 13th after his penalty, finishing three seconds behind Redding but won a close-fought battle with BMW rider Michael van der Mark.
Alex Lowes finished in the final point scoring position in 15th, ensuring both Bimota riders add to its point tally.
