Nicolo Bulega's scary admission after Portimao WorldSBK test: ‘We have some margin’

Although the WorldSBK rookie lost his grip on top spot, Nicolo Bulega has warned his rivals that there’s still a lot to come.

Robert Jones

31 Jan 2024

Nicolo Bulega lost out on top spot during the WorldSBK test at Portimao, as Toprak Razgatlioglu finished less than a tenth clear.

Bulega, who had topped day one and both days at Jerez, has been the star of testing so far but admitted his stunning pace is only the beginning.

The Supersport champion does not feel at 100% yet, despite being fast over one lap and race distance.

“It was a very good day; my feeling with the bike is nice,” began Bulega when speaking to WorldSBK.com. “Obviously, I need to adapt as I’m not at 100% but it’s normal. We’re working very well all together.

“I’ll go to Australia with good positivity. The lap was with the SCQ but with the SCX, I was very fast so apart from lap times – which are important but not a lot – I am happy because my race pace was good.”

With Alvaro Bautista nursing pain and on a different testing program, Bulega has been their challenger at the top of the timingsheets.

But Bulega feels more is yet to come after admitting he still has margin to improve.

The Italian said: “I think it has been very good; we started at Jerez with a normal feeling but every day, my feeling was getting better, so this is very important and I think we have some margin.

“We’ll try to be more ready in Australia. It’s a little bit better than expected. I don’t have a lot of things to do; more time on the bike, do more laps and understand the bike better with worn tyres and low fuel.

“I am excited and looking forward to Australia with this amazing bike, as Phillip Island is my favourite circuit.”