Is this the clear favourite for the Australia WorldSBK season-opener?
“I think we have a strong package to start the race weekend.”
After topping the opening day of the WorldSBK Phillip Island test by almost half-a-second, Nicolo Bulega more or less maintained his advantage on day two, leaving him optimistic ahead of the first round of the 2025 season this weekend.
Bulega was 0.498 seconds ahead of Andrea Iannone on Monday, and by the end of Tuesday the Go Eleven rider was only marginally closer at 0.482 seconds behind his compatriot.
It’s a sizeable advantage for Bulega to head into the Australian Round with, almost one year on from his on-debut maiden World Superbike victory.
“I improved the feeling from yesterday, which was already good, so I think we have a strong package to start the race weekend,” Bulega said at the end of the second and final day of the test.
“I'm happy with how the bike feels – everything is working well at the moment. Of course, we still have room for improvement, but I’ve already made a small step forward from yesterday, and if we can take another, that would be great.”
Despite the positive test, Bulega was not getting carried away ahead of the first round of the new season this weekend.
“Testing is one thing – it’s important to have a good feeling, but, at the end of the day, you don’t score points in testing.
“I’ll start Friday with a positive mindset, knowing we have a strong package, I feel good at this circuit, and the bike is working well here. Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going and improve a little more.
“I’m really looking forward to the first race of the year. I have to admit, I don’t enjoy testing that much; I prefer race weekends. Testing can get a bit boring, so I’m really excited to start racing.”
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
