Nicolo Bulega completed his record-breaking Hungarian WorldSBK weekend by claiming a dominant victory in Race 2.
Bulega took the holeshot off the line and once again led into the first corner ahead of team-mate Iker Lecuona and Alvaro Bautista.
Lorenzo Baldassarri renewed his rivalry with Yari Montella from the Superpole race after heading backwards from the front row, and swept past the Barni Spark rider into fourth.
Baldassarri then attempted a pass on Bautista to regain the podium, but ran both riders wide at the final corner on Lap 1 and was fortunate to escape without facing the wrath of the stewards.
Andrea Locatelli’s weekend ended in misery after he crashed out of the midpack at Turn 17 on Lap 2, though the Yamaha rider was able to walk away from the incident.
Whilst Lecuona was unable to make any progress on his team-mate at the front, Sam Lowes began making progress through the field, battling past a the demoted Bautista before XXX.
Meanwhile, his brother Alex Lowes was trying to pass Tarran Mackenzie for seventh place, but slid out at Turn 15. After Axel Bassani’s race ended due to a mechanical problem, both Bimota’s left Balaton on a sour note.
The fiercest battle at the midway point was between two unlikely contenders – with Garrett Gerloff attempting to pass the satellite Ducati of Alberto Surra. After three closely-contested laps, the Texan passed the Italian to move into the top five.
At the same time, Lowes continued his climb up the order, passing Mackenzie for eighth, and putting himself in position to chase down the duelling pair ahead.
Gerloff eventually managed to pull away from Surra, but Lowes rapidly chased down the rookie and was able to use his superior pace and knowledge of the Balaton Park circuit to take sixth.
At the front of the race, Bulega crossed the line unchallenged to complete another WorldSBK treble, taking the Race 2 victory by 2.557s.
Lecuona remained second throughout the race but was unable to make an impression on Bulega and settled for the rostrum.
Montella completed the top three after staying out of trouble in the early laps, ensuring the second all-Ducati podium of the weekend.
Baldassarri finished fourth after his early chaos, while Garrett Gerloff picked up a strong fifth for Kawasaki.
Sam Lowes progressed from 11th on the grid to sixth while Alberto Surra finished a strong weekend in seventh ahead of fellow Panigale rider Tarran Mackenzie in eighth.
Remy Gardner took ninth, as rookie team-mate Stefano Manzi rounded out the top 10.
Bautista finished 11th following a late long lap penalty for cutting the final chicane, but managed to rejoin ahead of Xavi Vierge in 12th while Bahattin Sofuoglu ended his weekend with points in 13th.
Rookie Mattia Rato crossed the line in 14th, whilst Somkiat Chantra completed the points finishers in 15th.
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