Nicolo Bulega “able to push every lap” en route to maiden WorldSBK treble

The opening round of the 2025 World Superbike Championship marked a milestone for Nicolo Bulega, who won all three races of a WorldSBK round for the first time in his career.

The Italian won both Sunday races by over two seconds, ahead of Andrea Iannone in the Superpole Race, and of Alvaro Bautista in Race 2, and now carries a 26-point championship lead over the Spaniard.

“I’m really happy because this is my first hat-trick in Superbike,” Bulega told WorldSBK.com after Race 2.

“It’s incredible, an amazing feeling to do it in my favourite track – it’s something special. Now I want to go back home to celebrate.”

Bulega said that he was “proud” of the work he has done with his team this week in Australia, praising the performance of his bike from the beginning of the pre-event test on Monday until the third and final race of the weekend on Sunday.

“I feel very good, very proud of what me and my team did because my bike was perfect from Monday’s test until Sunday and the last lap of Race 2,” he said.

“I was able to push every lap of this week, I enjoyed riding every lap.”

Despite his multiple-second winning margins in all three races, Bulega still had his moments, including in Race 2 when he nearly crashed at turn four.

“I braked a bit more inside at turn four,” he explained, “and with the knee slider I touched a bit the kerb that is a bit taller than the asphalt and it moves a lot my leg because it blocks my leg on the kerbs.

“When I opened my leg I lost the front and I almost crashed – I made a not bad save with the knee!”

Round two of the season takes the series back to Europe and to Portugal’s Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, where last year Bulega came up narrowly short of victory versus Toprak Razgatlioglu despite suffering with illness that weekend.

“I’m confident, because last year in Portimao I finished second with a lot of fever, so I think we can be competitive again,” he said.

“I think it will be not so easy because Toprak [Razgatlioglu] especially will be very fast in Portimao, but also Alvaro [Bautista] and other riders.

“So, I will try to maintain this level, but I think it’s very difficult.”