Two rounds, two weekends to remember for Nicolò Bulega and Ducati, the stars of this early season. After leaving Phillip Island with a perfect score, the rider from Emilia also dominated the weekend at the Algarve circuit, where he extended his championship lead to a 56-point margin over Iker Lecuona, the closest of his rivals, securing three more commanding victories.
“Yesterday I was at 90% and today at 95%. I’ve improved by 5% every day, in every session. I’m happy,” Nicolò said at the end of the weekend, highlighting the progress that allowed him to tackle Race 2 with fewer issues than those encountered on Saturday: “Honestly, I think we were a bit behind here with the setup, since we didn’t participate in the test a couple of weeks ago (Bulega and the Aruba team did not take part in the extra day of testing held by Bimota, Honda, and Yamaha—ed.). On Friday, I had a terrible feeling. Saturday was better, and today even more so. It was another fantastic weekend, and I’m enjoying this moment.”
Will it come as a shock to his rivals to learn that Bulega dominated even though he wasn’t at 100%?
“No, it’s simply because when I ride a bike, I want to have fun and smile under my helmet. But to do that, I have to ride naturally in my own style, without overthinking what I need to do,” he clarified. “Obviously, I was fast—I won three races—but my goal is simply to do it naturally.”
The wind in Race 2 wasn’t a problem for the World Championship leader, who said he felt “a little bit of it, but nothing crazy. There was a lot more when I did the wild card in MotoGP.”
Not everything went perfectly smoothly for Bulegas, however, who experienced a few tense moments before the start.
“I had a problem with the rear brake. I don’t know why, but we need to check it, because it happened this morning in the Superpole Race and then again in Race 2,” he explained. “My mechanics did a good job and fixed it before the race started, but during the formation lap I had no rear brake.”
Once the problem was quickly resolved, the Aruba rider managed to secure his sixth win of the season, his tenth in a row. He has now joined an exclusive group of riders that, besides himself, includes only Razgatlioglu, Bautista, and Rea.
“It’s a great moment for me because I have everything under control; I’m riding the bike well, and even when I have problems like we did this Friday, we know we can fix them,” he commented. “It’s clear we’re in a great moment, but when you’re in these positive moments, you can never relax because it only takes a moment to find yourself in a negative one. We have to stay focused, not think we’ve already won, and concentrate on how to improve ahead of the next race.”
Will these results be enough to convince Dall’Igna to bet on him for next year?
“I hope so, because I’m giving 100%. Not just here, but also at home: I’m working very hard, because I know this could be my year and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to win. I’m working hard and I hope that hard work pays off,” said Nicolò, who today allowed his rivals only the fastest lap in Race 2: “Yes, Iker did it, but that’s okay: I’d rather win!”
Lecuona and Oliveira have shown they’ve taken a clear step forward at Portimao and could close the gap even further in the next round at Assen. But will it be enough to challenge Bulega for the win?
“Iker and Miguel definitely did a great job this weekend. Honestly, this isn’t one of my favorite circuits, so I hope to have a better feel for the bike at Assen and be able to ride more naturally,” he noted. “I’ll definitely have more fun at Assen because I like the track better.”
When asked whether he prefers a duel like last year’s with Razgatlioglu or solo races like this weekend’s, the rider from Emilia added: “Honestly, both are tough races to handle: battling with Toprak, you can’t catch your breath the whole race, but even to maintain a margin of one and a half to two seconds, you have to stay very focused and can’t make even the slightest mistake. Both are difficult, but perhaps it’s harder to battle with Toprak.”
In conclusion, Nicolò spoke about the atmosphere at the track and the large crowd that filled the stands at Portimao: “There were a lot of fans here, 99% of whom were here for Miguel. But that’s okay, it’s normal. I hope there will be the same atmosphere in Italy too, but with 99% of the crowd cheering for me.”