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The first day of SBK testing at the Phillip Island circuit was all under the sign of Nicolò Bulega in great form. Fighting to the last with Razgatlioglu in last year's championship, the Ducati Aruba rider showed his claws at this early stage making it clear to his opponents that he will always be racing with a knife between his teeth this year. On his Panigale V4R, the Italian stopped the clocks on an excellent 1'28.765, the best time of the day.
"Right from the very first lap I felt immediately comfortable, while when we tried to change something the feeling got worse because the basic setting was already good. Making changes we lost our way a little bit and at that point we went back to the standard version. There is always room for improvement, especially in braking in turns 4 and 10, but all in all I am happy. The track seemed to be in good condition, it's not dirty and surprisingly there was no wind, so I had a lot of fun riding," were the Emilian's words.
Half a second ahead of Iannone is impressive....
"Yes, but I got the time with the SC0, although I was also fast with the race tyre."
Are you surprised to see four Ducatis in the top five?
"Phillip Island is a friendly track and as far as I am concerned it is my favorite."
Do you see the accident that happened to Toprak as an opportunity?
"It's only the first day, we'll see tomorrow if he's able to progress. I saw his crash, it was bad, but in the afternoon he was back on the bike."
A decision was made for the flag-to-flag, but it seems that the tyre might last for the whole race. What do you think?
"I completed 21 laps, so I would have preferred to have a normal race, but I think it is not possible. Personally, I have proven to be fast in all conditions, so much so that today I lapped in1'29.4 with a tyre that had already completed about 20 laps. Would it be feasible even with a 10-15°C higher asphalt temperature? It would have to be checked, however I don't think there would be any problems."
How were the riding sensations?
"Great as I said, I felt very comfortable and able to make the time at any time. It was actually one of my best testing days in SBK."
Have you changed your mindset since 2024?
"Now I know I can do it and I want to start every weekend with a good approach. Even here I tried to be positive and aware that I can do well. When you have that kind of attitude you start off on the right foot. More generally, last year I made some rookie mistakes that I hope not to repeat."
