Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) has been the star of the Official Test show at the picturesque Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit as he topped all four test sessions. Not only was the #11’s raw speed on show throughout but his consistency was too, often putting together stints that had little variation in the times as he built towards this weekend’s season-opener for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the legendary Australian venue.

In Monday’s opening session, Bulega posted a 1’29.454s with 36 laps completed before improving to a 1’28.765s with another 35 laps under his belt to take his tally for Day 1 to 71 laps, including in and out laps, and the only rider to lap in the 1’28s bracket. That theme continued on Day 2 in the third practice session as he racked up 36 laps and posted a 1’28.680s; again, he was the only rider in the 1’28s bracket. The final session was a rain-affected affair with ‘Bulegas’ not heading out until the final 10 minutes, when the track was at its driest.

Although he completed minimal laps, Bulega still ended the session quickest after setting a 1’29.133s although he did have a faster lap cancelled after the red flags were shown for a crash at Turn 3 for home hero Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team). That lap was a 1’28.826s which would have been two tenths slower than his fastest time of the test but would have also made it three out of four sessions where he lapped in the 1’28s bracket.

Discussing his test and finding gains between Day 1 and Day 2, the 2024 Championship runner-up said: “It was good. I improved the feeling from Monday, which was already good. I think we have a good package to start this race weekend and I’m happy with the feeling with the bike. Everything is working well for the moment. I know we have to improve again but, from Day 1, I improved a little bit and if we can make another small step, it’s good.”

Not only was Bulega’s raw speed impressive, so was his race pace across all three dry sessions. In those sessions, the Italian rider completed 79 flying laps (discounting in and out laps), and 70 of those – including cancelled laps for yellow flags – were either in the 1’30s, 1’29s, or 1’28s bracket. Five made up the 1’28s bracket and 16 in the 1’30s, leaving a huge 49 for the 1’29s and he was often, especially in FP2 and FP3, stringing these laps together for a potential race simulation and to give a glimpse of what he could be capable of if the race weekend is dry.

In FP1, he did two nine-lap stints and, while the times varied in the first of the two runs, in the second he was much more consistent as he posted seven laps in the 1’29s, starting and ending the run in the 1’30s. His longest stint in FP2 was eight laps and he gradually found speed, improving from a 1’31.234s to a 1’29.609s on the third-last lap. In FP3, he did four five-lap bursts, with only four laps not in the 1’29s or faster.

When asked whether his rivals should be scared given his pace and consistency across the test, Bulega replied: “No. Testing is nothing. It’s good to have a good feeling but you don’t take points during the test. We’ll see during the race weekend. Starting like this is very good. I will start the weekend very positively and try to stay at the front.”

CAN IT GET ANY CLOSER? How will Bulega fare in Australia? Find out using the WorldSBK VideoPass!