Nicolo Bulega reflects on “incredible” debut WorldSBK win

Nicolo Bulega’s debut WorldSBK season ended in second place, but it began in perfect fashion: with a win in Phillip Island.

Bulega’s victory in Race 1 at the Australian Round meant he was the first rider since Alvaro Bautista in 2019 — who happened to be his teammate last season — to win at his first attempt in World Superbikes.

“My first weekend was incredible, because [I achieved] pole position — that was already incredible,” Bulega told WorldSBK.com.

“Then, even more incredible was Race 1 because I won my first ever World Superbike race. It was something that I’ll remember for all my life.

He added: “We had the test a couple of days before and this helped me to arrive to the race with a little bit of experience.

“I knew that I had to be perfect.

“[I thought] ‘You are a rookie, new bike, new asphalt, new circuit with that bike’, and they were other things to think about [during] all the race.”

Bulega explained that the victory was important to justify his move to the factory Ducati team for his rookie season, straight from Supersport.

“Everybody for sure was very happy,” he said, “but I remember the faces of especially some people in my team, also my girlfriend, who look at me almost not believing this moment.

“Last year, when I signed the contract, someone was not 100 per cent convinced to take me in the factory team already in the first year.

“But someone else was convinced 100 per cent, and I can see the faces, I remember the faces of those guys proud of themselves because they can say ‘Yes, it was a good choice to take this guy in the first year’.

“My team did an incredible job, I did a good job, and at the end to win was something out of my head, because I didn’t go to Australia to win, just for having fun in my first race.”