Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) led the field on Day 1 at Phillip Island with a commanding performance.
Ducati riders filled four of the top five spots, with Andrea Iannone (Pata GoEleven) and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) securing strong positions.
Despite a crash in the morning session, Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) recovered to claim third, with a best time of 1’29.334s.
Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) impressed as the best rookie, finishing eighth with a time of 1’29.982s.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was ruled unfit for the season opener after a crash in FP1, suffering multiple fractures to his left foot. He was in P15 at the time of the incident, with a lap of 1’30.885s.
Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was the fastest of the bimota riders, finishing P6 with a lap of 1’29.883s.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“We had only one day and two sessions, but I can say that I have a good feeling. However, like I said, everyone will improve a lot, so we have to improve as well. But for the moment, I’m happy. We just tried to do some normal tests because this winter we didn’t test much due to the weather conditions. I just tried to ride my standard bike and complete a lot of laps without changing too many things. I prefer not to change too much and instead focus on understanding where I can improve myself, not just the bike. Now that I think I am at a good level, we need to also work on improving the bike and continue doing more laps. Regarding the Flag-to-Flag race, we will have it this weekend.”
P2 – Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven)
“We struggled a lot today because we had many problems with some new parts on the bike, and in the end, there was a lot of confusion in the garage. But in any case, we worked through it, and it wasn’t so bad. My pace is okay, so tomorrow should be interesting as I have a big plan to try something new. Also, with the tyres, because today I used the same tyres as last year. We will see how it goes, but in the end, it wasn’t so bad. I hope we work well tomorrow, without stress, and put everything together. Today was difficult for us, but that’s the target, and we’re focused on it.”
P3 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
“For me, it was a very strange crash. We checked the data, and I was at 39% throttle when I had the high-side, because the traction wasn’t working properly. I don’t know why, even after talking with my electronics guy, and he also checked it. We still don’t know the reason, but anyway, it’s not too bad—I’m lucky there are no broken bones, but I feel pain everywhere, especially in my hand. In the afternoon, we rode again because I needed to understand the bike better and work on the setup. By the end of the day, we had a good pace, understood the bike more, and found a good setup. Tomorrow will be another day, and I hope we can find a better setup. The pace is okay for now, but I need a little more. I feel much better for the race weekend because we have three or four days, so I’m just focused on my bike, as we need a good setup. Everything seems to be going in a positive direction, but the only disappointing thing was the strange start. Anyway, this is racing.”
Combined Results after FP2
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’28.765s, 71 laps
2. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) +0.498s, 53 laps
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.569s, 34 laps
4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.947s, 54 laps
5. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +1.063s, 80 laps
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +1.118s, 59 laps
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