Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) continued his record of topping every session at the Official Test at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, beating two fellow Ducati riders to P1 in Free Practice 3. ‘Bulegas’ has led every session during the test for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as he stakes his claim ahead of the season-opening Australian Round later this week, although there were eight riders from four manufacturers separated by less than one second.

Bulega was the only rider in the 1’28s bracket during the two-hour session on Tuesday morning, and his time was around a tenth quicker than he managed during Monday’s action. His time was a 1’28.680s, which he set right at the end of FP3, to finish just under half-a-second ahead of Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven). ‘The Maniac’ set a 1’29.162s to take P2 and finished two hundredths clear of fellow Independent Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) in third place, with the trio separated by 0.499s.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) showed no signs of ill-effects from his Turn 6 highside during FP1 as he claimed fourth place in FP3, lapping seven tenths down on Bulega’s time; although the field had been closer prior to the #11 setting his 1’28.680s. Double WorldSBK Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) secured fifth place as he continued to find the feeling with his Panigale V4 R, while Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) led Yamaha’s charge with sixth place after posting a 1’29.493s.

Both Bimota riders were in the top eight during FP3. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) claimed seventh spot with a 1’29.534s while teammate Axel Bassani was just a tenth behind the #22 in P8 with the top eight separated by less than a second. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) was ninth as the lead Honda rider, with Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) rounding out the top ten during FP3 on his Panigale V4 R.

Three riders crashed during the two-hour session, with Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) the first to come down when he fell at Turn 8; the red flags were briefly shown after his spill due to track conditions. Rookie Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) showed good pace on Monday, but he had a Turn 4 fall during FP3, while Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) crashed at Turn 6. The red flags were briefly shown after his crash due to track conditions.

The top six from FP3, full results here:

1 Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 1’28.680s, 36 laps

2. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) +0.482s, 21 laps

3. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.499s, 31 laps

4. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.701s, 28 laps

5. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.797s, 38 laps

6. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +0.813s, 24 laps

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