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Clean sweep of practice sessions for Bulega as he fends off Razgatlioglu at Phillip Island in FP3

Friday, 21 February 2025 23:40 GMT

    • The Ducati rider heads into Tissot Superpole as the rider to catch, but it looks like his rivals have bridged the gap a little bit…

    Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) topped Saturday morning action for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as he lapped in the 1’28s. The Italian star has been fastest in every session of the Australian Round so far and was two tenths clear of his rivals as the first race day of the 2025 season started at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Circuit. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) appears to have closed the gap to the #11 with just two tenths separating the pair.

    Bulega was straight into the 1’28.936s on his first flying lap in the 20-minute session, and it looked like he would improve on his second lap – up after three sectors – before falling just short. He did improve on this third flying lap to a 1’28.903s and remained the only rider to lap in the 1’29s bracket, although Razgatlioglu did edge closer to it. The #1 set a 1’29.106s to lap two tenths slower than his title rival from 2024, but with a much smaller gap to Bulega compared to Friday’s action. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) put in a late 1’29.128s to move into third place, 0.022s behind Razgatlioglu in P2 and 0.225s slower than his teammate in first.

    Another rider who put in a late lap was Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) as he posted a 1’29.226s to secure P4, lapping just three tenths away from the #11. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) secured fifth with a 1’29.308s, although he didn’t improve his time compared to his Friday effort. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was sixth as he put Bimota in the top six, finishing directly ahead of twin brother Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in seventh, with less than a tenth separating the pair.

    Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) lapped in the 1’29s bracket for the first time this weekend as he set a 1’29.500s to secure P8 after appearing to make a big step forward, with Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was ninth as the lead Yamaha rider. The home hero set a 1’29.565s for ninth with Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) rounding out the top ten. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) was 11th and lapped 0.783s, with the top 11 separated by less than eight tenths. Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) was 17th after he crashed at Turn 8 in FP3, with the Brit taken to the medical centre for a check-up.

    The top six from WorldSBK FP3, full results here:

    1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 1’28.903s

    2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.203s

    3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.225s

    4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.323s

    5. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) +0.405s

    6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.468s

    Tissot Superpole is up next for WorldSBK! Watch it all at 13:00 Local Time (UTC+11) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!