Nicolo Bulega names six-rider shortlist to win Australian WorldSBK
"There were a lot of very fast riders in the test"
Nicolo Bulega is the red-hot favourite to win this weekend’s season-opening Australian World Superbike Championship round.
Last year, he won at Phillip Island as a rookie. Earlier this week, he went fastest on Monday and Tuesday of the two-day test at the same circuit.
But Bulega knows there are rivals who could challenge him when the racing begins.
“It’s very difficult to answer,” he said about his top rivals for victory.
“Because there were a lot of very fast riders in the test: me, Toprak Razgatlioglu, Andrea Iannone, Danilo Petrucci, Andrea Locatelli, Alvaro Bautista.
“A lot of fast guys were very close, so it will be an interesting weekend.”
Bulega insisted that he must get faster, even from P1 at Phillip Island in the test just days ago.
“I am just thinking about where I can improve, because everyone will improve a lot,” he said.
“I still need to take one step forward. I will try, with my team, to keep the confidence that I had in the test to stay in the top position.”
BMW or Yamaha to thwart Ducati?
Tuesday afternoon’s testing session indicated how several manufacturers could have their say in this weekend’s races.
Ducati’s Bulega topped the session but four brands were in the top five positions.
Bimota’s Alex Lowes, BMW’s Razgatlioglu and Yamaha’s Locatelli joined Ducati riders Bulega and Iannone.
But, with Razgatlioglu nursing a finger injury sustained in preseason, the expectation falls on Bulega - last year’s championship runner-up - to start the year with a win.
“I have confidence, a good feeling with my bike. Everything is working well,” he said.
“I am ready to start this weekend and the championship.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
