Extraordinary. Majestic. Hectic. Frantic. The 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s new era lived up to expectation after a mesmerising season-opening Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round at Phillip Island. In a chaotic weekend, it was a sweet debut for Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) on Saturday with pole and a stunning win, whilst on Sunday, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) made it a double with Superpole Race glory and an exceptional final lap attack in Race 2. Elsewhere, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) was second in the first two races but crashed out of victory contention in a last lap thriller in Race 2. That promoted Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) on the podium, just behind Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). The other podium finishers throughout the round were rookie Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) in Race 1 and Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in the Superpole Race, taking his first rostrum with BMW.
Top 10 in WorldSBK Championship standings, full standings here:
1 Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) 50
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 41
3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) 29
4. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) 29
5. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 27
6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 24
7. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 20
8. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 18
9. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 15
10. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 15
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Source: WorldSBK.com