Nicolo Bulega’s admission: “I was fast but Toprak Razgatlioglu was not here!”

The absence of Toprak Razgatlioglu from the Jerez World Superbike test means his title rival Nicolo Bulega won’t gain too much optimism.

Ducati rider Bulega topped the timesheet on Day 1 of the preseason WSBK test on Wednesday, as the only rider with a lap inside the 1:38s.

But he knows that champion Razgatlioglu’s absence, due to a finger injury sustained in training, means the timesheet doesn’t tell a full story.

“We cannot see the real level,” Bulega admitted. “I was fast but Toprak was not here!

“Last year he was the fastest guy so we have to check his lap times and his feeling with the bike.

“Last year, in the race week, when he was here, I was quite good.

“I am looking forward to seeing him on track again, then we’ll see…”

Bulega was the championship runner-up behind Razgatlioglu last year, in his rookie WSBK campaign.

He intends to push Razgatlioglu even further in 2025.

“It’s good to be back with a great feeling,” Bulega said after the first day of testing.

“It was difficult because of the wind. I was more focused on the wind than on what I was doing with the bike, so it was strange.

“But I am happy to start the new year with the same good feeling.

“We tried something different with the set-up, and also for my body position to be more comfortable on the bike.

“Some parts I liked, some parts [I did not]. We need a mixture for the next day.

“If we can put it all together, we have a good package.

“I will try to do a longer run [on Thursday].”

Bulega tested two Ducatis on Wednesday, later switching back to his original.

“We just tried something different in both bikes. It was faster for the mechanics,” he explained.