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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1533905
Any real or imagined inde- structible Ducati Cup was clearly cracked and smashed by the undulating Portimao track layout and its best friend, Razgatlioglu. More surprising, especially after round one, was that the core-deep determination of eventual third-place rider Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) would keep all the other Ducati riders off the podium. Maybe the chassis-flex change—to be more flexible in an unspecified area—super-con - cession that Yamaha instigated on the R1 for this round had an immediate effect? All the same, Locatelli's strong launch into sec - ond place from fourth place after Superpole qualifying was impres- sive to watch. But it couldn't last in the face of all those V-fours? His continuing high pace and ability to blunt even Petrucci's sharpest Desmo claws saw "Loka" a clear third-place finisher in race one. After round one, nobody thought a Yamaha would beat all but one of the Ducati entries for a very long time, not the very next time out. This podium spot in blue was a great relief for the so-far belea - guered official Yamaha effort in 2025. Race one was a reminder that this track is particularly tricky, as several top names fell, including Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), Scott Redding (MGM Bonovo Racing Ducati), Alex Lowes (Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Ducati) and otherwise impressive rookie thus far, Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati). The Superpole race on a warm- ish Sunday morning was, funda - mentally, a 10-lap re-run of race one out front, with Razgatlioglu only 0.055 of a second ahead this time. Bautista recovered from his crash in race one and subsequent bitter verbal spat with Scott Redding after their "in - teraction" to take third place, with Petrucci fourth again this time. After five sprint races at PI in reality (after the long races were run in two halves due to tire- wear concerns), we got a race two in Portimao that ran to an eventually disregarded 10 laps or so. And then a real 11-lap race after a red flag had been shown for Jason O'Halloran's crash. Back on it again, with less fuel and new tires, the Toprak-and- Nicolo show operated on its own level of existence compared to the others, although Bautista was again the closest chaser. Razgatlioglu said, "Finally, I am happy, three wins and Superpole, and it looks like I took everything this weekend. Why not? The 11-lap race was like a Superpole race." Toprak agreed that he had nothing left in his pocket, how - ever, against the expectations of his team after his pace on Friday. "I used everything. In hot condi - tions, the bike is not working, not turning, and the grip is less. Okay, we are improving, but I was push - ing hard today," said Razgatlioglu. Maybe those factors helped Bulega stay in contention all the way in each race at a circuit he doesn't particularly mesh with. Not as well as Razgatlioglu, at least. "I think we had three very similar races," said Bulega. "To - prak was more comfortable on the bike to keep this pace; I was more on the limit at this pace. I am happy to fight with him and not let him win easy." Bulega is still holding a clear lead over Razgatlioglu (111 points to 82), mostly thanks to his own brilliance and Razgatlio - glu's bad luck in Australia. But it VOLUME 62 ISSUE 13 APRIL 1, 2025 P39 Nicolo Bulega was second in all three premier-class races.