Nicolo Bulega extended his unbeaten run by securing his 25th consecutive WorldSBK victory in Race 2 at Misano.
Bulega’s domination in WorldSBK continued during the Emilia-Romagna WorldSBK round as he secured another hat-trick of victories.
After an early and brief battle with Iker Lecuona, the Italian rider was able to retake the lead and never looked back as he ran away at the front.
Joining Bulega on the podium was his teammate, Lecuona, and the Barni Spark Ducati rider, Yari Montella.
Lecuona got the holeshot from the front row of the grid as he led the way through the opening chicane at Misano.
The Spaniard led from Bulega, Axel Bassani, Andrea Locatelli and Alex Lowes. As Lecuona and Bulega battled for the whole of the first lap.
On the first lap of the race, Alvaro Bautista crashed out of the race after getting caught up in an incident with Stefano Manzi.
On Lap 2, it was Bulega who led the way, and he had already begun to extend his advantage over his Spanish teammate.
The second faller of the race was Bahattin Sofuoglu, who crashed out of proceedings on his Motoxracing Yamaha.
Bassani made his way into the podium positions on Lap 3 as the Italian made his way past Montella, who was running in third place.
In a brave move on Lap 4, Tarran Mackenzie made his way into the top seven after making an aggressive pass on Locatelli.
At the end of the same lap, Lorenzo Baldassarri and Ryan Vickers both crashed, but the Italian and British riders were able to rejoin the race.
On Lap 7, Miguel Oliveira’s race came to an end as the BMW rider dropped out of the top ten and eventually pulled into the pits.
Bulega has checked out at the front, but the battle for third place was heating up on Lap 8, as Bassani, Montella and Alex Lowes were all in close proximity to each other.
After it went quiet on Lap 12, Bulega continued to lead from Lecuona, with Bassani and Montella fighting for third, and Alex Lowes was in fifth.
On Lap 15, Bassani began to break away from Montella in third place and was on track for his first podium since Phillip Island.
With a lack of action at the front, Alberto Surra was the biggest mover on Lap 17 as he was closing in on Tarran Mackenzie, who was running in sixth.
Late drama saw Bassani throw away his almost guaranteed podium, as the Bimota rider crashed out of third place, promoting Montella to third
Due to the Bassani crash, Mackenzie had been promoted to the top five, as he held a comfortable fifth place.
On Lap 19, Sam Lowes made his way into the top ten with an overtake on Xavi Vierge, who was running in 10th.
As the chequered flag is waved and the Emilia-Romagna WorldSBK Round comes to an end, Bulega takes another victory with a dominant display in Race 2.
Crossing the line in second place once again was the Spaniard, Lecuona, who once again could not challenge his teammate.
Montella inherited third place from Bassani, but converted the position for a hat-trick of podiums at Misano.
Alex Lowes was not able to challenge for the podium, but finished in fourth, with Mackenzie behind him in fifth place.
Surra was in sixth place, with the two Yamaha riders of Andrea Locatelli and Remy Gardner behind him in seventh and eighth.
Michael van der Mark was the top BMW rider as he ended the weekend in ninth place, with Sam Lowes rounding out the top ten.
Vierge and Garrett Gerloff secured points in 11th and 12th, with Somkiat Chantra, Tommy Bridewell, and Baldassarri finishing in 13th, 14th, and 15th.
The non-points scoring finishers were Manzi, Matia Rato, and Vickers, as they finished in 16th, 17th and 18th.
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