Jerez Test in the Rain: Pol Espargaró Outsmarts Bulega, SBK Champion Eight Tenths Behind

In the wet conditions at Jerez, Pol Espargaró set the benchmark, but the name that has everyone most intrigued is the one right behind him.

On the first day of testing reserved for MotoGP test riders, KTM tester Espargaró stopped the clock at 1'54"458, leaving Nicolò Bulega's Ducati 798 thousandths behind. The newly crowned Superbike world champion rode only in the morning, yet still finished the day with the second-fastest time.

Wednesday was anything but dry: rain affected the entire session and forced teams and riders to change their plans. It was a significant setback, since the Andalusian track offers the last chance to ride before the official test scheduled for early December in Valencia.

The Italian rider completed 27 laps in the opening part of the day, then did not return to the track in the afternoon. A gap of almost eight tenths to Espargaró is no small margin in these conditions, but there is another figure worth noting: the gulf between Bulega and the rest of the field. KTM's Spanish rider was the only one to beat the SBK champion in the wet.

Lorenzo Savadori was third, putting Aprilia 2"310 off the pace, according to the times reported by Motosan. Michele Pirro was fourth, lapping in 1'56"937 on the Ducati V4 Superbike. The Borgo Panigale test rider spent most of the day working on Superbike development, but also managed a few laps on the new 850.

Iker Lecuona was absent from the timesheets after deciding not to go out at all. It was a tactical choice: with the track in those conditions, the Spaniard preferred not to waste a test day that was unlikely to let him complete the planned work.

Now everyone's eyes are on the skies. Better weather is hoped for on Thursday—the only way to turn these final laps before Valencia into genuinely useful data.

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