Nicolò Bulega and Alvaro Bautista took their respective Ducati Panigale V4R machines to the parc fermé twice on Sunday at Portimao.
The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team riders finished the Superpole Race and Race-2 in second and third place, respectively, behind Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Bulega twice came close to victory, passing under the SPR chequered flag with just 55-thousandths of a second delay, before giving life (in Race-2) to another exciting battle with the Turkish rider, who, after the Red Flag on lap 10, seemed to have a slightly more incisive pace.
Bautista built up his podium finish in the morning Superpole Race. The Spanish rider recovered six positions and finished in third place, gaining the front row of Race 2. His pace, however, does not allow him to fight for victory.
Bulega maintains the Superbike World Championship lead with 29 points ahead of Razgatlioglu. Bautista is fourth, one point behind third place.
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #11)
“We leave Portimao knowing we did everything possible to bring home at least one win. At the same time, though, we are delighted to have fought to the last metre with Toprak on a track where we struggled a lot last year. I thank my team and Ducati for the great work done before and during this round. See you at Assen”.
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #19)
“We got the best possible result today because Razgatlioglu and Bulega showed a much better race pace. It was a good weekend, though, because in terms of feeling, we could replicate the good sensations we had in Australia. We have to continue on this path”.
