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Bulega beats Manzi to top spot in disrupted WorldSSP FP1 during the Official Test

Tuesday, 21 February 2023 02:26 GMT

    • Just over a tenth separated the two Italian riders at the end of the penultimate WorldSSP test session ahead of the Australian Round

    The penultimate session of winter testing for the FIM Supersport World Championship was a dramatic affair at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit during the Official Test for the FIM Supersport World Championship, with several crashes and two red flags halting proceedings during Free Practice 1 on Day 2. Italian rider Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) continued his strong winter form with top spot by more than a tenth of a second ahead of his rivals as he looks to put Ducati on top in 2023.

    Bulega posted a 1’33.111s to claim top spot and was faster than his time from Day 1, which topped the combined classification at the end of the day’s running by more than four tenths. Compatriot Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was second, 0.166s behind Bulega after closing the gap in the latter stages of the session, while Turkish star Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was third and almost three tenths back from Manzi.

    Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) once again showed strong pace in testing with fourth spot after setting a 1’33.802s on his Panigale V2 with the Italian three tenths clear of home hero Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing) in fifth place. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) took sixth spot, 0.926s slower than Bulega, despite a Turn 4 crash in the first ten minutes of the session and a technical issue with around 20 minutes remaining.

    Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was seventh, exactly 1.1s down on Bulega at the top of the times, while Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) was eighth. Huertas had a crash at Turn 4 with 40 minutes remaining in the session and the 2021 WorldSSP300 Champion completed only 11 laps during the 1 hour 50 minute FP1 session. French rider Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha) took ninth spot ahead of Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) who rounded out the top ten.

    Rookie Nicholas Spinelli (VFT Racing Yamaha) had a crash at Turn 4 with just over an hour remaining of the session, while fellow rookie Andrea Mantovani (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) crashed at Turn 12. Spinelli was able to return to the track in the closing stages of the session while Mantovani had to remain in the pits with the pair finishing 14th and 15th respectively. There were two red flags in the session, with the first for geese near the track 30 minutes into the session and the second for oil on the track.

    The top six following WorldSSP FP1, full results here:

    1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’33.111

    2. Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.166s

    3. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.295s

    4. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.691s

    5. Oli Bayliss (D34G Racing) +0.894s

    6. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) +0.962s

    THE GOLDEN ERA CONTINUES: watch the 2023 WorldSSP season unfold LIVE and UNINTERRUPTED using the WorldSBK VideoPass!