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There are 21 points separating Toprak Razgatlioglu from Nicolò Bulega on the eve of Cremona World Superbike, the fourth round of the season. The two title contenders will return to battle against each other this weekend between the kerbs of the Lombardy circuit, where the championship leader will be trying to quickly making amends after the disappointments of Assen. A double retirement due to technical failure cost at least 34 points for the Emilian rider, who was forced to surrender while occupying second place in the Superpole Race and first in Race 2.
While Bulega will try to get back to the top in front of his home crowd, where he picked up two podiums in 2024, the Cremona round will be a true unknown for the Turkish rider, who last year was forced to skip the first edition of the Acerbis Italian Round due to an injury suffered at Magny-Cours.
Although Bulega and Toprak have been playing a separate sport so far, there is another confrontation between the two to agitate the rider market. The Turk is in fact called upon to renew with BMW while Nicolò with Ducati. At the moment, however, there is still no white smoke on either one front or the other, because no one has yet made the first move.
Irrespective of the negotiations however, there are several riders who will try to get themselves into the battle for victory this weekend. Starting with Andrea Locatelli, who in the Netherlands confirmed his excellent run of form, continuing his positive streak with his first win in the premier class of the production-based racing series. Precisely on the track where he dominated last season, scoring a formidable trio of wins, Danilo Petrucci will not want to miss out on a place on the podium either. And so will Alvaro Bautista, eager to close the gap that still separates him from the top step of the podium.
While Andrea Iannone will be required to turn over a new leaf after the difficulties encountered in the Cathedral of Speed, Sam Lowes and Remy Gardner will try to confirm their positions in the top part of the standings after having shone during the last round. A round that gave the British rider his first pole and his first podium in the championship and the Australian a repeat of the third place conquered last year.
On the other hand, the potential of Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani, on their first outing in Cremona with the Bimota KB998 Rimini, remains to be seen. The same thing could be said about Scott Redding, a loose cannon with the Panigale V4 of the MGM team. Among those riders ready to compete for a place in the Top 10, we cannot fail to mention Michael van der Mark, Dominique Aegerter and Honda riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge. Also not to be ruled out is Yari Montella, whose main task above all will be to dispel what is becoming a Saturday race curse. And keep an eye out for Motocorsa team rookie Ryan Vickers, who will want to score some good finishes in his team's home round.
Other reasons of interest in this first round in Italy of the World Superbike Championship is the possible return to racing of Jonathan Rea, who will undergo a pre-round medical examination to assess the possibility of returning to his Yamaha after the multiple fractures in his left foot injured in testing in Australia. Gabriele Ruiu, on the other hand, is certain to participate as a wild card with the Ducati of the B-Max team, with which he will tackle the full National Trophy 1000 season.
