Nicolò Bulega started the new year strong, dominating the first day of World Superbike Championship testing held this Wednesday in Jerez.
The runner-up in last year’s championship topped the timesheets for most of the eight-hour session. The Aruba.it Ducati rider was the only one to break into the 1m38s range, setting a blistering lap of 1m38.731s to finish comfortably in first place.
Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven/Ducati) took second, 0.450s behind Bulega, followed by Scott Redding, making his debut on a Bonovo Ducati. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki) and Axel Bassani (Bimota by KRT) rounded out the top five.
With reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW) absent due to injury, Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Ducati) finished eighth, 1.404s off the best time. Michael van der Mark, the sole BMW rider, placed tenth.
World Supersport riders were also in action, with Marcel Schrötter (WRP/Ducati) clocking the fastest lap at 1m43.289s, narrowly beating Kaito Toba (Petronas MIE Honda) by 0.215s. Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki) completed the top three.