It was a mixed Friday for Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) at the Cremona Circuit. The #11 finished second on the combined timesheets, only behind teammate Iker Lecuona, but he had two crashes across both practice sessions for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. Ahead of what could be a Championship-winning EICMA Italian Round, Bulega reflected on a tricky Friday in Italy.
Bulega’s longest run of the day came in Free Practice 1 when he completed a 13-lap stint, just over half the full-length race distance. His times ranged from a 1’30.499s on the opening lap to a 1’28.397s on his final lap. Aside from the opening and third laps of the stint, all of his times were in the 1’28s bracket. In comparison, Lecuona’s longest stint was 11 laps long at the end of FP2, and, like Bulega, all but two of the #7’s lap times were in the 1’28s bracket.
Bulega’s first fall of the day came in Free Practice 1 when he crashed at Turn 10 towards the end of the session, not losing too much running compared to his rivals. However, his FP2 tumble was a bit more costly in terms of track time. The crash occurred at Turn 8 around 12 minutes into the session, and ‘Bulegas’ was not able to get back out on track in the afternoon session, costing him running time in a session that runs at a similar time to the races on Saturday and Sunday.
Despite his falls, the #11 is confident he can be back to his best on Saturday, even though he admitted he’s ‘angry’ about today. Bulega said: “The feeling wasn’t the best. I wasn’t able to ride like I wanted. We know why, so I’m confident that I will be back at my performance level. We have to work with the team because, today, I had something I didn’t like on the bike. I think, for tomorrow, we know how to put the bike in a condition that I can push like I want. Normally, in FP3, during the last races, I used all the time to ride and didn’t stop. Tomorrow, I’ll do the same. At the moment, I’m just angry about Friday. Now, I’m just focused on having my good feeling back, and then I will think about the other things.”
If Bulega and his squad have correctly diagnosed his Friday issues and can remedy them overnight, Saturday could see the #11 crowned. The pair have already locked down the Teams Championship for their Aruba.it – Ducati squad and brought home the Manufacturers’ title to Bologna; only the Riders’ title remains. To win it after Race 1, Bulega will need to outscore his teammate by 15 points, setting up an epic showdown on Saturday between the two sides of the factory Ducati garage. If Bulega can’t manage that, Sunday will likely still see him coronated at home, as he will need to outscore Lecuona by just three points after the Tissot Superpole Race, or, score a total of 40 points from the round in total after Race 2 to clinch the title.
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