Nicolo Bulega “has nothing to worry about” after Dutch WorldSBK DNFs - Avaro Bautista

Two non-finishes on the same day at the Dutch WorldSBK saw Nicolo Bulega miss out on as many as 34 potential points, but the Italian doesn’t need to “worry” about his championship situation, according to his factory Ducati teammate: Alvaro Bautista.

Bulega was second in the Superpole Race, albeit being closed down by Sam Lowes, when his Ducati suffered a reported electrical issue on Sunday morning; and in Race 2 he was leading comfortably despite starting 10th on the grid as a result of the Superpole Race non-finish.

The luckless Sunday for Bulega cancelled out his 12-point gain over Toprak Razgatlioglu in Saturday’s Race 1, and saw his championship lead reduced to 21 over the reigning World Superbike Champion, a cause of visible frustration for the Italian who smashed the screen of his Panigale after the Race 2 issue.

However, Bulega’s dry weather performance in Assen was clearly stronger than his rivals’, and he was able to do a decent job in the wet, too – a podium at least seemed likely before the Superpole Race retirement.

Such performance should negate Bulega’s frustration - according to his three-time World Champion teammate, Bautista - because there are still nine rounds remaining in the 2025 season in which Bulega can impose his speed and pace and take profit from them in the standings.

“Fortunately there are still many races left,” said Bautista after Race 2 in Assen, as reported by GPOne.

“I know his frustration, he feels he is the fastest rider at the moment, but these two zeros are not his fault.

“In my opinion he has nothing to worry about, because he will not have technical problems in every race.

“He had two on the same day, but I think he can be very relaxed, because he knows he is the fastest rider on the grid right now.”

The next round of the 2025 season is the Italian WorldSBK at Cremona Circuit on 2–4 May. Bulega scored pole position and two podiums as a rookie there last year, while Razgatlioglu didn’t race after his infamous Magny-Cours practice crash two weeks before.