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Bulega leads Spinelli in Italian 1-2-3 at Mandalika as WorldSSP action begins with FP1

Friday, 3 March 2023 02:06 GMT

    • After taking two wins last time out, Bulega started his Indonesian Round in the perfect style with top spot in Free Practice 1

    Action for the 2023 Motul Indonesian Round got underway in the FIM Supersport World Championship with Free Practice 1 at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit with double Australian Round winner Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) topping the times by almost seven tenths of a second. Bulega lead a trio of Italian riders in the top three at the end of the 45-minute session.

    Bulega was the first rider to lap in the 1’39s bracket as he posted a 1’39.420s to take top spot, while he was also one of the last riders to take to the track. He completed only nine during the session to finish ahead of rookie Nicholas Spinelli (VFT Racing Yamaha) in second, with just over two tenths between the pair. Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) took third spot to complete the Italian 1-2-3 at the top of the standings.

    German rookie Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was an impressive fourth spot as the highest-placed MV Agusta rider. Schroetter had been running inside the top two in the closing stages of the session before he was overhauled by Spinelli and Manzi. Raffaele De Rose (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) was fifth, more than a second down on Bulega’s pace, while Turkish star Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) rounded out the top six.

    Dutch rider Glenn van Straalen (EAB Racing Team) was seventh after setting a 1’41.079s ahead of Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) in eighth. French rider Valentin Debise (GMT94 Yamaha), making his first WorldSSP debut at Mandalika, was ninth ahead of fellow Yamaha rider Jorge Navarro (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha). Navarro was one of the first riders to head out on track and led the time in the early stages of the session.

    The top six following WorldSSP FP1, full results here:

    1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’39.420

    2. Nicholas Spinelli (VFT Racing Team) +0.259s

    3. Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.535s

    4. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.696s

    5. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +1.202s

    6. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +1.364s

    Watch more action from Indonesia at 12:00 Local Time (GMT+8) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!