Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) couldn’t have wished for a better start to the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season after he took pole position and Race 1 victory, while setting the fastest lap in the race. He was denied a grand slam after leading all but one lap – which occurred through the pit stop phase – but a 25-point haul at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit from the season-opening Australian Round was the perfect start for his season.

Bulega’s Saturday started by topping Free Practice 3 with a 1’28.903s as he lapped two tenths quicker than rival Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) ensuring he completed a clean sweep of practice sessions. That translated into pole position as he fended off ‘El Turco’ by just 0.094s to claim his fifth WorldSBK pole, despite Razgatlioglu following ‘Bulegas’ as they both set their best laps; although Bulega used the SC1 rear tyre for his time while the #1 was on the softer SC0 compound.

After taking pole position, it looked like Razgatlioglu got the better start when lights went out for the start of Race 1, but the BMW rider fell backwards heading towards Turn 1 with the 2023 WorldSSP Champion holding the lead. He faced a bit of pressure in the early stages of the race but when Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) had a huge moment running through Turn 3 which meant the chasing pack had to check up, giving Bulega a three-second lead.

From there, the Italian rider was able to control proceedings. He opened up a gap of six seconds to the riders behind who were scrapping for the podium places before taking his mandatory pit stop on Lap 9; the first lap pitting was allowed. He then continued controlling the race with the gap to the chasing pack maintained at around six seconds before rolling off on the final lap as he claimed the first win of 2025 by 4.8 seconds ahead of the reigning Champion.

Reflecting on his Saturday at Phillip Island, Bulega said: “What a way to start the Championship! I’m happy because my feeling was good from the first session of the Monday test. Every time I go on the bike, I know what I can do and what I have to do. I’m just enjoying riding my bike, lap by lap, and it’s an amazing feeling. Maybe in WorldSSP at Aragon, on the first lap, I had 1.5s advantage. But in WorldSBK, it’s another story, so I’m really happy about the start and I’m really proud about what we’re doing.”

Bulega explained that, despite showing fast and consistent pace throughout the weekend, he wasn’t feeling relaxed ahead of Race 1 due to the riders around him. With Razgatlioglu and Iannone lining up alongside him, plus Bautista directly behind in fourth, Bulega was made to work hard to maintain his lead at the start of the race before using Iannone’s incident to pull put a gap over his rivals.

Continuing his Saturday reflection, Bulega stated: “I was not so relaxed before the race. I knew there were some aggressive riders starting close to me, especially in the first laps. I tried to stay calm and concentrate. I started good and finished good! I’m confident. If I continue with this feeling, I can stay positive. I’d like to continue in this position.”

Can Bulega make it a first WorldSBK hat-trick? Find out using the WorldSBK VideoPass!