Nicolo Bulega: “We lost too much; I wasn’t thinking about Toprak Razgatlioglu”

Nicolo Bulega remains top of the World Superbike Championship despite a hugely frustrating round at Assen.

When Ducati rider Bulega won Race 1 in the Netherlands on Saturday, most onlookers expected him to dominate title rival Toprak Razgatlioglu on Sunday too.

Instead, he encountered unexpected problems.

Bulega’s bike just stopped in Sunday’s Superpole and Race 2, robbing him of the points that his pace warranted and allowing Razgatlioglu to stay competitive in the title fight.

Bulega is 19 points clear of second-placed Razgatlioglu in the WorldSBK standings despite not collecting a single point from Sunday at Assen.

Nicolo Bulega tries to explain WorldSBK DNFs

“It’s difficult because I was very good, I had a good race with a lot of overtakes,” Bulega said.

“With two laps to go, the bike stopped for the second time. Obviously, I’m not happy, but I don’t know what to say.

“I didn’t ask but I feel like the problem is the same, but I don’t know if that’s true.

“When I put the gear in on the straight, the bike switched off.

“I dominated but I didn’t bring home a lot, they give the points after the chequered flag and not for being fast.

“I’ll go home with confidence that I’m really strong and have a good package, but we lost too much.

“I wasn’t thinking about Toprak, I was just thinking about overtaking everybody and trying to win because I knew I was very fast on Saturday and at the start of Race 2, I had a good feeling.”

Razgatlioglu had worried after Bulega’s win on Saturday in Race 1 that it was a season for Ducati to dominate.

But two DNFs on Sunday added a surprise layer of detail to the championship battle.

Razgatlioglu was a lowly eighth in Race 2 yet it was enough to stay within touching distance of Bulega, whose weekend came to an abrupt halt.

The next round is the Italian WorldSBK at Cremona on May 2-4.