Nicolo Bulega “in a good moment but not riding 100%” at Misano WorldSBK

Factory Ducati rider Nicolo Bulega was fastest in FP2 on Friday at the Misano WorldSBK round, but the Italian still feels he needs to find more from his package ahead of this weekend’s three races.

The Italian, who leads the World Superbike Championship by 31 points coming into this weekend, admitted that his feeling with the bike is good, but nonetheless felt after Friday’s two practice sessions that there is margin for improvement.

“We made a little step from FP1 to FP2; my feeling improved a little bit, but still not enough,” Nicolo Bulega told WorldSBK.com after FP2 in Misano.

“I think for the race we have to find something more in some parts that I’m not 100 per cent riding like I want.

“We are in a good moment but I’m still not riding 100 per cent.”

Bulega added that the hot temperatures at Misano this weekend (track temperature was recorded at 45C in FP2) meant that things had changed compared to the test at the same venue a couple of weeks ago.

“We made the test here, but honestly the track condition is a bit different now because it’s much more hot and less grip,” he said.

“So, we have to adapt a little bit our bike, it’s not the same as the test, but we are working well so I believe that tomorrow we can make another step.”

The Italian also indicated that he expects Toprak Razgatlioglu to be his main rival in this weekend’s races.

“At the moment, it’s possible that me and Toprak [Razgatlioglu] fight for the race,” he said.

“But we can’t know until race time because maybe tomorrow I make a step, or maybe he makes a step, so we will see tomorrow.”