Nicholas Bulega entered the history books of the Australian Superbike round, not only taking three victories, but also finishing first in all the sessions World SBK that took place at the Phillip Island circuit, including the four that took place during the two days of testing earlier in the week!
In total, there were no fewer than 12 sessions, including 3 races, that the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider dominated, sometimes alone as in race 1, sometimes having to fight as in this morning's Superpole race. At this level, we can truly speak of a grand slam, an expression that includes four tennis tournaments, but we can also wonder who will be able to hinder the Italian's triumphant march, looking a priori for candidates among the troops of Borgo Panigale, the BoP (Balance of Performance) appearing clearly less balanced in Superbike than in Supersport, to the benefit of Ducati…
The first answers will come with the return to Europe, on theAlgarve International Motorway from March 28 to 30, where everything will be different from the very atypical Australian circuit: the layout, its surface, but also the weather conditions, and therefore the softer Pirelli tires.
While waiting to find out if the #11 will be as untouchable on our continent, he is bathing in a real bubble of happiness and already has a 26-point lead over his teammate Alvaro Bautista in the general classification of the Superbike World Championship.
Nicholas Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #11): “Yes, now you can say I’m the favourite! I’m very happy because it’s my first WorldSBK hat-trick. It’s incredible to do it at my favourite track. I want to go home and celebrate! I’m proud of what we’ve achieved this weekend. My bike has been perfect since Monday’s practice until the last lap of Race 2. I’ve enjoyed every lap this week. We can be competitive again in Portimao, even if it won’t be easy, but I’m confident. Last year I came second despite a high fever, and I think we can be competitive again. Toprak will be very fast there, as will Alvaro and other riders. I’ll try to maintain this level, even if it will be difficult. I don’t think Ducati and I will always be as strong, it’s impossible to be everywhere, but we’ll work hard to stay competitive and I can’t hide that I’m delighted with this weekend.” It is clear that the results are there and visible to everyone, but what gives me the most satisfaction is the feeling with the bike, which has been perfect since the tests. I want to thank the team for their extraordinary work.
Superbike general classification after Phillip Island in Australia:
Classification credit: WorldSBK.com
Nicolò Bulega Australia
