He took to the track at around 2 p.m. on the Ducati MotoGP and finished at 5 p.m. It was a non-stop day for Nicolò Bulega in Jerez. After riding the Panigale V4 with Michelin tires in the morning, he got on the GP25 in the afternoon.
Nicolò took advantage of the three hours of time available to get to know the Desmosedici: he tried to gain confidence with the Michelin tires, shapeshifters, carbon brakes, and everything related to the Rossa.
At the end of the day, after 35 laps, the stopwatch read 1'38"0. This is the best time Nicolò achieved that we know of, which is two tenths better than what Pol Espargarò's KTM did (1'38"2). Savadori, on the Aprilia, lapped at 1'39"3.
At this time, making comparisons with the performance of the MotoGP riders at the Spanish GP last April is useless, since the track conditions were quite different, and it had rained all day yesterday.
The fact is, as Nicolò wrote on his social media profiles, "Today, part of my dream came true." A dream that #11 will begin to further approach in Portimão when, in a week's time, he'll be picking up the baton left by Marc Marquez who's still struggling with his post-injury recovery from Mandalika.
For Nicolò, This is going to be a week he's going to experience with expectation and, above all, excitement for this long-cherished opportunity that's close to becoming a reality. What can we say except for it being a great story to tell!