Nicolo Bulega believes he or Ducati don’t know the bikes’ performance levels because WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu is absent.
The 2024 championship runners-up dominated the timesheets on Day 1 of the pre-season WorldSBK test at Jerez on Wednesday, posting a lap time of 1.38.731s, the only rider inside the 1.38s bracket.
Despite this, Bulega remains cautiously optimistic about the day’s work, due to Razgatlioglu missing the first test due to nursing a finger injury sustained in training.
The Aruba.It Ducati rider revealed he tried various parts throughout the test by having different setups on different bikes.
“We cannot see the real level,” Bulega disclosed to Crash.net. “I was fast but Toprak was not here!
“Last year he was the fastest guy so we have to check his lap times and his feeling with the bike.
“Last year, in the race week, when he was here, I was quite good. I am looking forward to seeing him on track again, then we’ll see…
“We tried something different with the set-up, and also for my body position to be more comfortable on the bike.
“Some parts I liked, some parts [I did not]. We need a mixture for the next day. If we can put it all together, we have a good package.
“I will try to do a longer run [on Thursday]. We just tried something different in both bikes. It was faster for the mechanics,” he explained.
Nicolo Bulega admits ‘it’s great to be back’ ahead of new WorldSBK season
Bulega’s lap time of 1.38.731s secured first place in the testing classification charts, as he was the first rider to dip into the 1.39s and 1.38s bracket.
His performance sees him as the man to beat amongst the Ducatis, with Andrea Iannone and Scott Redding rounding off the top three for Team Pata GoEleven and MGM Bonovo Racing.
“It’s good to be back with a great feeling,” Bulega said after the first day of testing.
“It was difficult because of the wind. I was more focused on the wind than on what I was doing with the bike, so it was strange.
“But I am happy to start the new year with the same good feeling.”
Bulega will aim to improve on his debut season and become a first-time WorldSBK champion, after coming runners-up to Razgatlioglu.
