SBK, Bulega the insatiable dominator: he has asked Ducati for one more push

The Emilia-born rider dominated the final pre-season Superbike test: the conditions seem right for a hat-trick in the opening round of 2026.

Phillip Island is one of his favorite tracks, and Nicolò Bulega reaffirmed this special feeling over the two days of testing in Australia. With the new Ducati Panigale V4 R he topped the timesheets on both Monday and Tuesday. His best lap of 1'28"630 is 0.050 quicker than the time that put him first at the end of the 2025 pre-season test with the “old” bike. Great news for him and for the Aruba Racing team, who undoubtedly head into next weekend’s round as favorites.

The Emilia-born rider can only be satisfied with his test, given that the feedback from the new Ducati was absolutely positive: "I'm happy, I felt good on the bike. Today we tried something different with the setup, especially during the second session, but then we went back to the bike from this morning, I liked it more. When you have a good feeling, you ride well and you’re able to push with the package and setup you have, the changes you try don’t always work perfectly. We decided to go back to keep the sensations I had in the morning and everything went well. I had a good pace."

He hasn’t logged that many kilometers with the new Panigale V4 R yet, but Bulega is discovering a bike that allows him to be effective and still has untapped potential: "The most important thing is having had a good feeling with the bike. We’re discovering some new areas with this new bike. We have a long job ahead over the season, but we’ve started well."

Even if he seems to have a gear more than everyone else on the grid, the 2024–2025 Superbike runner-up isn’t satisfied and aims to take further steps forward ahead of the weekend: "At the moment, it’s just a test. I want to improve; there are some areas where I can do that, and we’ll work on them in these days before the race weekend. Then we’ll see. There are some things about the bike I’m not super happy with; I think gaining a couple of tenths would be positive."

Last year he took a hat-trick in the opening round at Phillip Island, where in 2024 he won on his SBK debut. He really likes the track and everything seems “set” for another trio of victories, but it’s crucial to keep his feet on the ground and not assume it will be easy. Without the right mindset, there’s a risk of making mistakes. Bulega wants to stay focused and then give everything to leave Australia with the maximum haul of points.