Nicolo Bulega fastest but “we need to improve” after Phillip Island WorldSBK test day one

Fastest overall on day one, Nicolo Bulega is looking for improvements on the final day of this week’s Phillip Island World Superbike test.

The Italian was content with his feeling on the Ducati Panigale V4 R on Monday, and was 0.498 seconds clear of Andrea Iannone in second place.

However, last year’s World Superbike runner-up was wary of improvements coming from his rivals on Tuesday, which will be the final day of preseason testing for 2025 ahead of this weekend’s first round of the season, also at Phillip Island.

“We had only one day and two sessions, but I can say that I have a good feeling,” Bulega said.

“However, [...] everyone will improve a lot, so we have to improve as well. But for the moment, I’m happy.”

The Italian added that his programme for the opening day of the test in Phillip Island included some tests that were initially planned for the earlier European tests, but which were not possible in either Jerez or Portimao due to poor weather.

“We just tried to do some normal tests because this winter we didn’t test much due to the weather conditions,” he said.

“I just tried to ride my standard bike and complete a lot of laps without changing too many things. I prefer not to change too much and instead focus on understanding where I can improve myself, not just the bike.

“Now that I think I am at a good level, we need to also work on improving the bike and continue doing more laps.”