Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made history at the Australian Round of the 2025 WorldSBK season, not only securing a hat-trick of wins but also finishing first in every single session held at the Phillip Island circuit, including the four sessions during the two days of testing earlier in the week. The Italian rider’s dominance was unmatched, as he cruised to victory in Race 2 with a comfortable 2.6-second margin.
Speaking about his incredible performance, Bulega said, “I can’t hide the fact that I am delighted with this weekend. It’s clear that the results are there for all to see, but what gives me more satisfaction is the feeling with the bike, which has been perfect since the tests. I want to thank the team for their extraordinary job.”
While Bulega celebrated his success, not all riders enjoyed a smooth race. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), the 2024 Riders’ Champion, struggled from the start and was handed a penalty for irresponsible driving after an aggressive overtake on Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team). Razgatlioglu’s race came to a premature end when he was forced to retire due to a mechanical issue in lap 12.
Reflecting on his weekend, Razgatlioglu said, “I am never very happy after the first races of the season which has been the case in the past years – the season opener is always strange. To get the podium in race one was not easy; thanks to my team as in every session they improved the bike. I felt a bit better on the bike in that race and we did a very good job. At the start of the Superpole race, I had a big problem and was lucky not to hit someone and to avoid a big crash. For race two we said it would be better to ride yesterday’s bike because I felt that we had been really improving and the grip was much better than before but during the race there was a problem and I could not continue. But I now only focus on the next race. Finally we are going to Europe and I’m just starting to fight with all the Ducatis because this is almost like a Ducati Cup. Nicolò Bulega was strong here last year, so I was not surprised that he was fast. Congratulations to him, he did a very good job and deserves it.”
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had a challenging start to his Sunday, as he was forced off track on the first lap of the Superpole Race to avoid contact with Razgatlioglu, compromising his result. However, the Spanish rider fought back in Race 2, starting from 11th position and mounting an exciting comeback to secure second place.
“This Sunday didn’t start in the best way in the Superpole Race,” Bautista commented. “However, the feeling was good, allowing me to stay focused and ride in Race 2 as I liked. I am satisfied because my goal for this weekend was to get a good feeling again. We go to Portimao with good feelings.”
Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) joined the Ducati Factory riders on the podium, starting second on the grid and fending off challenges from other independent riders to claim his second podium of the weekend.
The battle for the top independent rider spot was intense, with Scott Redding (MGM Bonovo Racing) and Danilo Petrucci engaged in a thrilling fight throughout the second half of the race. Redding ultimately finished fourth, just ahead of Petrucci in fifth. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) matched his career-best result with a sixth-place finish, narrowly missing out on improving his position by a mere 0.088 seconds.
Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the top Yamaha rider, replicating his seventh-place result from Race 1. The Bimota duo of Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani finished eighth and tenth, respectively, with rookie Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) sandwiched between them in ninth.
In the absence of the injured Iker Lecuona, Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) continued to score points as the top Honda rider, finishing 11th. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) closely followed in 12th, while Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki Racing Team), the grid’s sole Kawasaki rider, took 13th place.
Other notable finishers include Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Racing Team) in 14th and rookie Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) in 15th, the final point-scoring position. Fellow rookie Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) finished 16th, ahead of teammate Tito Rabat.
The weekend saw its share of retirements, with Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) crashing out in Turn 6, and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) unfortunately crashing with just four laps remaining.
As the Australian Round concludes, Nicolo Bulega leads the championship standings with a perfect 62 points, followed by Alvaro Bautista with 36 points and Andrea Iannone with 35 points. The WorldSBK paddock now heads to Portimao for the next round, where teams and riders will look to close the gap to the dominant Ducatis and challenge for victories.
