good fourth after breaking the
pressure of a rock-solid Alex
Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team).
He has grown into his lead role
for Kawasaki so much in such
a short time that he (and his
teammate Axel Bassani) have
been retained to front up the
new Bimota by Kawasaki Racing
Team project for 2025.
Gardner would finish sixth
after losing front grip and con
-
fidence, having made his un-
missable early mark with belief
and true pace.
Andrea Iannone (Team Go
Eleven) was seventh, and Mi
-
chael Van der Mark was eighth.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Yamaha
Prometeon WorldSBK Team) had
a crash that wrecked his bike and
hurt his left hand and wrist.
Rea would ride again in the
Superpole race but not feature
near the podium places.
The winner of the 10-lap
Superpole race was that man
again, Razgatlioglu.
He had to witness eventual
second-place rider Bulega lead for
three laps, but Toprak made an
attack that worked the first time,
and he led for seven laps to the
flag, winning by 1.651 seconds.
In third place, the resurgent
and reshaped KRT effort allowed
Alex Lowes to take a podium
place that seemed unlikely at
a track that has never been the
most favored for the Kawasaki
in general, and given that the
track temperatures were rela
-
tively high again. Lowes held
off the challenge of Bautista for
some time until the Ducati rider
fell at Tramonto on lap five. He
remounted to finish well out of
the points in 17th. It was not
the kind of 'neo-home round'
Bautista had hoped to have in
what is now a three-way fight for
championship supremacy.
Locatelli, Iannone and a revi
-
talized Bassani finished fourth,
fifth and sixth, respectively.
The final race of the Misano
weekend offered Bulega a lot of
hope. He took a strong lead from
the start and looked like he may
have the pace to keep Toprak as
a chasing white shadow. It was a
dream that lasted seven laps.
Razgatlioglu rides with com
-
plete freedom in the corners—all
kinds of corners at Misano—
which saw him catch, pass, and
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P45
Nicolo Bulega was
the next of the best,
taking second place
in all three races.
