The 2022 FIM Supersport World Championship will witness an era-defining change to the class, with new bikes, new regulations, new riders and new teams all making for one of the most unpredictable seasons yet. In the recent test at Portimao, it was Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who shone and finished fastest, with a lap time of 1’43.876. The Italian rookie, coming in from Moto2™ World Championship action, was just under two seconds ahead of his nearest rival Max Kofler (CM Racing), showcasing his and Ducati’s potential.

In what was Bulega’s second test on the bike, the Ducati Panigale V-twin was the only Supersport machine on track, with Bulega getting up to speed with it for the first time since the end of 2021. Just shy of 100 laps were completed across the two days by the Italian, and he kept improving, eventually finishing less than a second behind Luca Bernardi’s (Barni Spark Racing Team) WorldSBK time; the Italian also lapping faster than the pole time from the same venue in 2021 by 0.032s.

Speaking about the test and laying down his thoughts ahead of the year, Bulega stated: “It was a very good test as we tried something different compared with day one and we have something good on the bike. I felt really good and very comfortable on the bike, we did lots of laps and I’m happy with this, but also for the feeling with the team and the bike.”

Talking about his adaptation to the class, Bulega said that so far, it’s going smoothly: “I like the tyres and I like the bike. I can brake hard, which, for my riding style, is good. I think that up to now, we can be happy. It’s too early to talk about goals, as we’ve done only two days of testing. The target for me and the team is to stay inside the top five during the races.

Watch day two highlights here and follow Bulega’s journey in 2022 with the WorldSBK VideoPass!