Factory Ducati riders Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista are anticipating stronger competition for this weekend’s WorldSBK round in Portimao.
Both Bulega and Bautista are comfortably sitting in the top two spots in the championship after a strong season opener at Phillip Island.
The former completed his first WorldSBK treble in dominating fashion, while the Spaniard posted two podium finishes and crashed out of the Superpole race.
Both riders suggested that this dominance was a one-off with stronger competition expected throughout the weekend.
“I think Toprak [Razgatlioglu] will be very good because I think it’s his favourite track,” Bulega stated at WorldSBK’s Thursday press conference.
“Also, last year he was very strong here and during the test was the man to beat.”
After all, Razgatlioglu completed an impressive treble at Portimao in 2024, setting a new record for the most consecutive wins with 13 in a row following that weekend.
Fellow two-time champion Bautista made it clear that Ducati’s dominance at the season opener was due to the track suiting both the Panigale and the riders.
The 40-year-old pinpointed his Turkish rival and listed another manufacturer who could spring surprises in Portugal.
“Australia is a special track, especially for Ducati, normally Ducati is very fast there, and we saw that all the Ducati riders can be fast there, but I don’t think that will be normal for all the tracks,” Bautista shared to WorldSBK.
“In the test, we did a few days ago, both BMWs were fast, the Bimotas were fast, it is more of a normal situation.
“In this round, we will see more the reality of the championship.”
WorldSBK leader Bulega avoided injury following test crash
Despite his dominant start to the 2025 season, Bulega revealed he avoided injury following a high-speed test crash at the mid-March Portimao test.
The 25-year-old mentioned the weather again played its part in proceedings, resulting in limited testing time.
“I feel good,” the Italian admitted.
“We did a test some days ago in Portimao, it was not so nice but not so bad. So, we have to improve for sure.
“I did also a high-speed crash but I’m good so no problem for this and I will try to improve during the weekend.
“The test was bad also for the weather conditions because we were not able to make a plan and follow it for all the test because the weather was quite strange.
“But, fortunately, for this weekend I see the weather and it looks much better, so I hope to have a nice weekend and try to improve every session.”
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