Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) finished Friday at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Andalucia as the fastest rider in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship but it was a rollercoaster day for the #11. He suffered some technical problems in Free Practice 2 which cost him around 10 minutes of running in the afternoon session for the Pirelli Spanish Round, although he returned to the track and improved his time after his bike was repaired.

With just over 10 minutes gone in FP2, Bulega came to a halt at Turn 2 as he examined his bike, with Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) helping to pinpoint where the issue was for Bulega. He made his way slowly around the track with a bit of smoke occasionally coming from the back of his Panigale V4R, before he was given the black flag with orange disc which ordered him to leave the track. He made his way back to the box through the paddock, where the mechanics fixed the issue.

Talking about the tech problem, Bulega said: “On the exit of Turn 1, I nearly had a highside with the throttle. I came back to the garage because Iannone said to me there was something he didn’t understand. I didn’t feel any problems with the bike, so I came back to the garage, and it was a very small problem. They fixed it and then I finished the session.

Despite the tech issue, ‘Bulegas’ finished the day top of the standings thanks to a 1’38.587s he set in Free Practice 1, with his fastest FP2 time just a tenth slower. He was just 0.088s clear of Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) in second, with ‘El Turco’ seemingly struggling in FP2 and not completing a race simulation. Bulega’s 1’38.668s from FP2 came in his final stint after his bike had been repaired, showing his confidence – even if he feels there’s more to come.

Discussing his Friday, the #11 said: “My Day 1 wasn’t so bad, but honestly the feeling isn’t 100%. We have some time to gain because I didn’t like my bike in some areas, so we can be faster and I hope we fix some setting problems for tomorrow. We did quite a good job. I tried something different, also with tyres. I’m quite fast with every tyre. I think if we can improve our bike for tomorrow, I can be very fast. I don’t know if I’m the favourite, I think it’s too early to say because today’s very important for tomorrow. This evening, every team will work a lot and we’ll see after FP3.”

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