{"id":111273,"date":"2025-02-26T13:47:01","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T13:47:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/insurance\/bulega-dominates-as-world-superbike-returns\/"},"modified":"2025-02-26T13:47:01","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T13:47:01","slug":"bulega-dominates-as-world-superbike-returns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=111273","title":{"rendered":"Bulega dominates as World Superbike returns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Last weekend marked the return of top flight racing in the shape of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/guides\/motorcycle-racing\/world-superbike-championship\/\">World Superbike Championship<\/a> and it was Italian Nicolo Bulega who dominated with the Ducati rider winning all three races at the picturesque Phillip Island circuit in Australia.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Bulega\u2019s on fire<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This time last year, Bulega was a World Superbike Championship rookie, and he shocked the paddock somewhat when he won the opening race of the season. This time though, it wasn\u2019t a shock to see him come out on top and after finishing second overall in last year\u2019s series he\u2019d have wanted to have started 2025 in the manner which he has.<\/p>\n<p>Bulega clearly enjoys the flowing Phillip Island circuit, as does the Ducati, but his hat-trick at the weekend has laid down a clear marker and fired a clear warning to the rest of the field, especially as each win was achieved in a relatively comfortable fashion.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_419920\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-419920\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419920\" alt=\"Nicolo Bulega World superbike\" width=\"710\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Nicolo-Bulega-Phillip-Island-710x410.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Nicolo-Bulega-Phillip-Island-1280x739.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Nicolo-Bulega-Phillip-Island-768x443.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Nicolo-Bulega-Phillip-Island.jpg 1330w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Nicolo-Bulega-Phillip-Island-710x410.jpg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419920\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Nicolo-Bulega-Phillip-Island-710x410.jpg\" alt=\"Nicolo Bulega World superbike\" width=\"710\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Nicolo-Bulega-Phillip-Island-710x410.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Nicolo-Bulega-Phillip-Island-1280x739.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Nicolo-Bulega-Phillip-Island-768x443.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Nicolo-Bulega-Phillip-Island.jpg 1330w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-419920\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nicolo Bulega (Phillip Island) Image Credit Aruba.it Racing Ducati<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He pushed eventual champion Toprak Razgatlioglu all the way last season taking 23 podiums but only six of those were victories so it\u2019s clear where he needs to improve.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s still only 25 though and last years\u2019 experience will have done him the world of good so that\u2019s why he\u2019s rightly being considered as one of the favourites in 2025. The title won\u2019t have been decided at round one but Bulega has got his campaign off to the perfect start.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Frustration for Razgatlioglu<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If Bulega started his campaign in a faultless manner, the same couldn\u2019t be said for reigning champion Razgatlioglu with the BMW rider leaving Australia with just one second place finish and twenty points to his name, which already puts him 42 points behind Bulega.<\/p>\n<p>The Turk cut a frustrated figure both on and off track, clearly unhappy with the performance of the BMW M1000RR and what he later described as the \u2018Ducati Cup\u2019, such was the dominance of the Italian brand at Phillip Island. Indeed, the Panigale took eight of the nine podium places in Australia with the top five riders in the championship after the opening round all Ducati-mounted.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_419923\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-419923\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419923\" alt=\"Toprak World Superbike\" width=\"710\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-710x473.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-2048x1364.jpg 2048w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-710x473.jpg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419923\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-710x473.jpg\" alt=\"Toprak World Superbike\" width=\"710\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-710x473.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Toprak-Razgatlioglu-Phillip-Island-2048x1364.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-419923\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toprak Razgatlioglu Image Credit ROKiT BMW Motorrad<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, pre-season hasn\u2019t gone smoothly for Razgatlioglu with a pre-season hand injury limiting his track time whilst an early spill in practice at Phillip Island wouldn\u2019t have helped his cause. On top of that, round one has rarely seen him at his best so perhaps we shouldn\u2019t read too much into his performance.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time though, he knows the opposition have upped their game and he\u2019ll want to get back to winning ways sooner rather than later. And he\u2019ll be demanding BMW give him the tools to do exactly that.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Strength in depth<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Having lost both the riders and manufacturers titles in 2024, it\u2019s clear Ducati have been working hard over the winter months to give themselves every chance of reclaiming both championships this time around.<\/p>\n<p>Both Bulega and official factory team-mate Alvaro Bautista have expressed their satisfaction with the latest version of the Ducati Panigale V4R, but the level of support being given to the independent teams has clearly been increased too.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what caught the eye the most at the opening round and with six other Ducati riders on the grid this year, Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven), Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing) and Scott Redding (MGM Bonovo Racing) were the pick of the bunch as they fought for the podium places in each race.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_419926\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-419926\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419926\" alt=\"world superbike Danilo Petrucci\" width=\"710\" height=\"399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-710x399.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-710x399.jpg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419926\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-710x399.jpg\" alt=\"world superbike Danilo Petrucci\" width=\"710\" height=\"399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-710x399.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Danilo-Petrucci-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-419926\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Danilo Petrucci Image Credit worldsbk.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Both Iannone (twice) and Petrucci (once) achieved that feat with Redding taking a brace of fourths and a fifth for his best weekend since the middle of 2022, the Brit clearly happy to be back with the brand who he finished second and third overall with in 2020 and 2021 before three disappointing seasons at BMW.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_419925\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-419925\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419925\" alt=\"Andrea Iannone WSB \" width=\"710\" height=\"399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-710x399.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-710x399.jpg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419925\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-710x399.jpg\" alt=\"Andrea Iannone WSB \" width=\"710\" height=\"399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-710x399.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Andrea-Iannone-PI-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-419925\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Andrea Iannone Image Credit worldsbk.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Italian pairing of Petrucci and Iannone, meanwhile, rode the Ducati last year and are therefore better placed to comment on any improvements. And both said there\u2019s been a step up and they have better equipment to fight with so it will be interesting to see if they can contest the race wins when the series returns to the European circuits at the end of March.<\/p>\n<p>Sam Lowes was another Ducati rider to enjoy himself at the opening round, the Brit taking a pair of top six finishes on the Elf Marc VDS machine. Having shown good single lap pace in his maiden campaign in 2024, race pace proved to be his Achilles heel but the signs already look a lot more promising.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Solid start for Bimota<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>News mid-way through the 2024 season that the Provec team were leaving their position as the official Kawasaki entrant in WSB surprised many \u2013 none more so than riders Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani no doubt \u2013 especially as the decision had been made to join forces with Bimota.<\/p>\n<p>The Italian chassis manufacturer has a rich history in the sport, including winning the very first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldsbk.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WSB<\/a> race at Donington Park in 1988 (with current Ducati MotoGP team manager Davide Tardozzi) but have been absent from the series since 2000 so eyebrows were understandably raised.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_419924\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-419924\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419924\" alt=\"Alex Lowes world superbike\" width=\"710\" height=\"399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-710x399.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-710x399.jpg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419924\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-710x399.jpg\" alt=\"Alex Lowes world superbike\" width=\"710\" height=\"399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-710x399.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Alex-Lowes-PI-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-419924\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Lowes Image Credit worldsbk.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Having been purchased by Kawasaki Heavy Industries in 2019 though, the ZX-10RR engine would still be used and both riders have so far shown there\u2019ll be more than competitive. Bassani was the quicker of the two throughout testing, but it was Lowes who came out on top at round one with seventh in the Superpole race and eighth in the other two encounters.<\/p>\n<p>Bassani wasn\u2019t too far behind in any of the three races so the signs are certainly encouraging and as development of the package continues, and both riders and team get more used to the new machine at their disposal, they should climb further up the leaderboard as the year progresses. Podium finishes will clearly be the aim.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Disaster for Rea<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After a disappointing maiden campaign with the Pata Yamaha team in 2024, which saw him finish in a vastly unfamiliar 13<sup>th<\/sup> overall \u2013 by far his lowest ever position in the series \u2013 Jonathan Rea was reinvigorated for the start of the new year and whilst he hadn\u2019t set the world alight in pre-season, the word from the camp was certainly more encouraging.<\/p>\n<p>However, a testing crash at Phillip Island just a few days before practice got underway dashed all positivity and left him with multiple fractures in his left foot, immediately ruling him out of the first two rounds.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_419919\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-419919\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419919\" alt=\"Jonathan Rea WSB\" width=\"710\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-710x473.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-710x473.jpg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419919\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-710x473.jpg\" alt=\"Jonathan Rea WSB\" width=\"710\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-710x473.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Jonathan-Rea-Phillip-Island-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-419919\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jonathan Rea Image Credit Pata Yamaha<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hopes of regaining the crown he last won in 2020 have already gone so the year couldn\u2019t have got off to a worse start for the 38-year old Northern Irishman. It wasn\u2019t a great weekend all round for Yamaha either as they struggled to make an impression on the top ten.<\/p>\n<p>Only Rea\u2019s team-mate Andrea Locatelli achieved that feat, taking a sixth and two sevenths, as satellite rider Dominique Aegerter could only manage a pair of 12th\u2019s. And for Remy Gardner on the second GYTR GRT Yamaha, it was a disastrous home round with the Australian failing to score a single point so clearly there\u2019s work to be done within the Yamaha garage.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Rookie Vickers impresses<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ryan Vickers is the latest Brit to try his hand in the World Superbike Championship and whilst it\u2019s fair to say the decision of Motocorsa Ducati to sign the 25-year old came as somewhat of a surprise, he\u2019s so far impressed.<\/p>\n<p>The Norfolk rider has six full seasons in the British Superbike Championship under his belt, so the time was clearly right to move before the opportunity passed him by and there\u2019s no doubt he showed blistering speed at times in BSB when riding the OMG Racing Yamaha YZF-R1. Indeed, nine race wins came his way across the 2023 and 2024 seasons.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_419922\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-419922\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419922\" alt=\"Ryan Vickers WSB\" width=\"710\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ryan-Vickers-710x473.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ryan-Vickers-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ryan-Vickers-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ryan-Vickers.jpg 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ryan-Vickers-710x473.jpg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419922\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ryan-Vickers-710x473.jpg\" alt=\"Ryan Vickers WSB\" width=\"710\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ryan-Vickers-710x473.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ryan-Vickers-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ryan-Vickers-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Ryan-Vickers.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-419922\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ryan Vickers Image Credit worldsbk.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Costly and, at times, unforced errors cost him any chance of challenging for the title though with fifth overall in 2024 his best championship position. However, Vickers is managed by former Grand Prix rider and Isle of Man TT winner Roger Burnett, a more than canny operator, and with the WSB deal secured, Vickers has so far grabbed the opportunity with both hands.<\/p>\n<p>A solid pre-season was followed by an equally solid opening round where it was imperative he finished all three races. Vickers did exactly that and despite never having seen the Phillip Island circuit before, he finished all three races inside the top 15 to pick up four World Championship points. The weekend was error-free, and he got quicker as it progressed, the final race seeing him lap just a second slower than race winner Bulega. It\u2019s given him a solid platform to build upon.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Booth-Amos wins in Supersport<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The British riders in the World Superbike Championship may have had solid starts to their respective campaigns but they were all upstaged by World Supersport Championship rider Tom Booth-Amos who took first and second on his PTR Triumph to leave Australia as joint-championship leader.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_419927\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-419927\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419927\" alt=\"Tom Booth-Amos WSB\" width=\"710\" height=\"399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-710x399.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-710x399.jpg\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-419927\" src=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-710x399.jpg\" alt=\"Tom Booth-Amos WSB\" width=\"710\" height=\"399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-710x399.jpg 710w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-1280x720.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.devittinsurance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Tom-Booth-Amos-leads-2048x1152.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 710px) 100vw, 710px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-419927\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tom Booth-Amos leads Image Credit worldsbk.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Shropshire rider, winner of the 2017 British Moto 3 Championship, finished tenth overall last year with one podium to his name, and is now in his third World Supersport Championship season.<\/p>\n<p>The competition is as fierce as ever \u2013 with the all-new Yamaha R9 in the hands of fellow Australian race winner Stefano Manzi, amongst others, only going to get stronger \u2013 but with the experience he has, there\u2019s no reason why Booth-Amos can\u2019t be a title contender.<\/p>\n<p><em>Having started watching motorcycle races all over the world form childhood, Phil Wain has been a freelance motorcycle journalist for almost 20 years and is features writer for a number of publications including BikeSport News, Classic Racer and Road Racing Ireland, as well as being a regular contributor to MCN and MCN Sport.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>He is PR officer for a number of teams and riders at both the British Superbike Championship and International road races, including PBM Ducati, John McGuinness, KTS Racing and Jackson Racing. He is also heavily involved with the Isle of Man TT Races working with the race organisation, writing official press releases and race reports as well as providing the TV and radio broadcasting teams with statistical information.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last weekend marked the return of top flight racing in the shape of the World Superbike Championship and it was Italian Nicolo Bulega who dominated with the Ducati rider winning all three races at the picturesque Phillip Island circuit in Australia. Bulega\u2019s on fire This time last year, Bulega was a World Superbike Championship rookie, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[50020,18424,10970,50021,2379],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-111273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insurance","tag-bulega","tag-dominates","tag-returns","tag-superbike","tag-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Bulega dominates as World Superbike returns - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=111273\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bulega dominates as World Superbike returns - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last weekend marked the return of top flight racing in the shape of the World Superbike Championship and it was Italian Nicolo Bulega who dominated with the Ducati rider winning all three races at the picturesque Phillip Island circuit in Australia. 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