Three rounds into the 2025 World Superbike Championship (WSB) and Nicolo Bulega and Ducati continue to lead the way but it could have been so much better had they not had a double DNF at the most recent round at Assen, Holland.
Heartbreak for Bulega – twice
Bulega has been the fastest rider so far all season and Assen was no different despite the riders having to face constantly changing conditions. Although he missed out on pole position, his race pace was strong, and he duly converted that into victory in race one by a commanding 7.8s.
That extend his championship lead further and although the rain fell on Sunday morning, it mattered little to Bulega as he again stormed into the lead. However, with just three laps to go, the bike slowed, and he was out, electrical problems given as the issue.
By the time race two came under starters orders again, the sun was shining and although he was starting from the fourth row in tenth, the 25-year old was soon in the leading pack.
Taking the lead on the 11th of 21 laps, Bulega slowly pulled away but as he was just about to start the penultimate lap, the Ducati Panigale slowed along the start and finish straight, electrical gremlins again the problem.
Bulega was understandably beside himself, smashing the screen in anger, his championship lead – which could have been more than 70 points – cut to just 21.
On the plus side, he’s finished on the podium in every race he’s finished, winning four of them and whilst Assen was a disaster, he knows his pace is stronger than anyone else’s so he should bounce back strongly.
Victory for Toprak but issues remain
Bulega’s advantage could have been reduced further had reigning World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu not been battling his own problems. The Turkish rider won the wet Superpole race – his first in the wet on the BMW M1000RR – but could only manage fourth and a lowly eighth in the other two.
After sweeping all before him at the previous round at Portimao, where he won all three races, he was in no mood to celebrate at Assen.
A change in set up for the final race of the weekend, where he also opted for the harder SC0 tyre, clearly took him in the wrong direction as he slowly slipped back through the pack – second at one stage to eighth at the end and some 13s adrift of race winner Andrea Locatelli left him extremely annoyed to say the least.
It could have been worse too as had the race gone another lap, he could have been outside the top ten. As well as battling set up issues, rule changes which saw the BMW given the same fuel flow reduction as Ducati left him feeling that those changes and the Ducati’s fuel flow could have gone one step more. To put it bluntly, he feels the rules have gone against him.
The next round takes place at Cremona, a new circuit for Razgatlioglu as he missed last year’s event due to injury. Rumours continue to circulate – and increase – that a move to MotoGP is edging ever closer so there’s plenty going on in the life of the 28-year old and the sooner he feels there’s equilibrium both on and off the track, the better.
Locatelli wins at last!
Locatelli’s victory was undoubtedly the best and most popular moment of Assen, the Italian taking his first victory in WSB having been a ever-present in the series since 2021. Winning the race in is 154th start took the record for the longest wait for a victory from Britain’s Chris Walker who won on his 131st attempt, also at Assen.
The 2020 World Supersport Champion has always been in the leading pack since he switched to the Superbike class not only taking 21 podiums but also coming oh-so-close in many others. Indeed, the 28-year old has more fourth place finishes than any other rider!
However, he’s always been seen, from the outside at least, as the number two rider, firstly to Razgatlioglu between 2021 and 2023 and then Jonathan Rea from 2024 onwards. He’s proven to be a lot more than that though, comfortably finishing ahead of Rea last year and now assuming the responsibility as team leader in the injured Rea’s absence. The victory moved him up to third in the championship standings, just eighth points behind Razgatlioglu.
The Assen win won’t necessarily open the floodgates for victories but with new crew chief Tom O’Kane, who brings with him years of MotoGP experience, beside him and Super Concessions with regards to the chassis, he’s in a good place. And not only was he smiling himself, but his win also brought a whole lot of joy to a team that’s had some tough times these last 18 months.
Joy for Lowes
If Locatelli’s win was the highlight of the weekend, then Sam Lowes’ pole position and maiden WSB podium came a close second. The Elf Marc VDS Racing Ducati rider was imperious over one lap of the Assen circuit, one he knows well from his decade in the Moto2 series, and whilst his race results could have been even better, third in the Superpole race was a superb ride.
The reason his results could have been better was that he was taken out early on in race one by former World Champion Alvaro Bautista, who was hugely apologetic afterwards. That meant he missed out on valuable data over a full race distance but, after taking his maiden podium in the Superpole race, he ended the weekend with a fine fourth in the final race of the weekend.
That was the now 34-year old’s best result in a long race format and should give him tremendous confidence for the season ahead. Having a new crew chief, Gorka Segura, and former WSB podium finisher and BSB Champion Leon Camier as rider coach is clearly helping as is the years’ experience from 2024.
He showed glimpses of speed then but struggled with tyre life over a full race distance and that, combined with several crashes left him 18th overall. He’s a lot better rider than that and with five top six finishes already, he’ll be hoping a corner’s been turned and his fine form continues.
Bassani and Bimot impress
Another rider to impress at Assen was Italian Axel Bassani who gave the new Bimota by Kawasaki Racing team their best weekend of the season so far. Having taken a superb fourth in qualifying, Bassani missed out in the first two races but fifth in the final race was a huge boost for both him and the team.
Team-mate Alex Lowes had left the previous round at Portimao pointless and there’s no doubt both riders have found the going tough on the all-new Bimota KB998, the Bimota chassis fitted with the Kawasaki ZX-10RR engine.
Glimpses of speed have been shown here and there but more often than not they’ve found themselves at the bottom end of the top ten and whilst fighting for the race wins wouldn’t have been expected, they’d have hoped for better than that.
Bassani’s fifth place clearly came on the back of him feeling more comfortable on the bike so if the setting they’ve found works at Cremona, it will show they’re moving in the right direction. Team-mate Lowes finished one place further back in sixth so both riders will be feeling confident ahead of round four.
Not all plain sailing for Ducati
Ducati riders dominated the opening round at Phillip Island in February, so much so that Razgatlioglu dubbed WSB the Ducati Cup and as well as Bulega and Bautista, satellite riders Danilo Petrucci, Andrea Iannone, Scott Redding and Lowes were all well to the fore.
The series has settled down since then though and Iannone and Redding have struggled since their front-running exploits in Australia. Redding took just one point at Portimao and Iannone has finished just two of the last six races so it’s clearly not all plain sailing.
Bautista finished on the podium twice at Assen, his mistake in race one ruining both his and Lowes’ chances, and sits in fourth overall on 86 points, some 50 adrift of team-mate Bulega. As per 2024, mistakes are continuing to cost him.
Petrucci has remained consistent as seen by third in race one at Assen and he’s scored points in all but one of the races so far, allowing him to occupy fifth in the standings. But Locatelli’s win, Remy Gardner giving Yamaha another podium and Bassani’s form on the Bimota shows it’s not all about Ducati in 2025.
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.
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.