Nicolo Bulega not expecting Ducati team orders in WorldSBK title fight
With both factory Ducati riders in mathematical contention for the WorldSBK title, the question of team orders is complicated.
Although Nicolo Buelga is Ducati’s best mathematical chance of winning the 2024 WorldSBK title, the Italian is not expecting team orders to help him.
Bulega, the reigning Supersport World Champion, is 39 points adrift of series leader Toprak Razgatlioglu after last weekend's Aragon Round, and his teammate, reigning and two-times Superbike World Champion Alvaro Bautista, is 81 points behind Razgatliolgu and 42 behind Bulega following his two victories at MotorLand.
Razgatlioglu extended his lead over Nicolo Bulega by 26 points over the course of the Aragon Round, with most of those coming in Race 1 when the Italian was unable to take the start.
“We were unlucky this weekend, but it wasn’t from our side,” Bulega told WolrdSBK.com. “Yesterday, I lost a lot of points due to the technical issue and today I didn’t have a very good feeling with my bike.
“Yesterday, we didn’t do the race, so we lost a lot of information for today’s two races. In the end, it’s a podium, but we want more.”
Bulega’s Sunday went better than his Saturday — he at least started the races. However, two third places saw him lose more ground in the championship fight with Razgatlioglu.
“The start of [Race 2] was very difficult because I lost some positions with some aggressive riders at the beginning of the race. I almost touched van der Mark under braking, I had to pick up the bike, ran wide and I lost maybe 6 or 7 positions.
“I think I was P9. I recovered for a podium, but I lost the chance to fight for the top two positions. Alvaro [Bautista] and Toprak [Razgatlioglu] did a very good job, congratulations to them. I’ll try again next time.”
Bulega’s deficit of 39 points means there is potential for Razgatlioglu to be crowned champion in Portugal in two weeks’ time if he extends his advantage over the Italian by at least 23 points.
In this case, theoretically, Bulega could benefit from some help from his teammate, Bautista, at Estoril.
When asked by WorldSBK.com about the potential for Ducati team orders at the next round at Estoril, though, Bulega said, simply: “I don’t expect them, and I don’t want anything. I just want to do my best.”
