For his first appearance in Mandalika, the Italian rookie topped Friday’s timesheets while Championship leader Aegerter was 9th.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team)
- On his first outing on the Mandalika circuit, Bulega led Friday’s practices with a best time of 1’38.004s set in FP2.
- He was 0.223s fastest than second-placed Raffaele De Rosa.
“New track for me… this morning, I understood the track and I felt much better from the first lap. This morning, the track conditions were not so good, there was zero grip. It was like riding in the wet with slick tyres. But this afternoon, the track was much better. I have a very good feeling with my bike again, like during the first part of the season, because in the last three or four rounds, I was a bit slower. But now, my good feeling came back and I’m happy. For the moment, I really like this circuit, I think it’s very good for our bike and for my riding style, so I hope to continue like this and be faster all the weekend and I’ll try to bring good results.”
Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) was second despite a crash in FP2. He set a best time of 1’43.685s. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) finished the day in third place in the combined results, 0.245s behind Bulega. This means that the top three was filled with Ducati riders.
Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was fifth, followed by Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph).
Championship leader Dominique Aegerter (Ten Kate Racing Team) was ninth on the combined schedule with a best time of 1’38.912s. Championship challenger Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) was eighth. The pair separated by just one tenth at the end of Friday’s action.
To note:
FP2 was red flagged with just over 20 minutes left after a crash for Adrian Huertas (MTM Kawasaki) at Turn 8. The rookie was taken to the medical centre for a check-up following the crash where he was declared fit.
Aegerter has the chance to wrap up his second title in Race 1 if he outscores title rival Lorenzo Baldassarri (Evan Bros. WorldSSP Yamaha Team) by three points or loses less than 22 to him across both Race 1 and Race 2.
WorldSSP Combined Results after FP2
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’38.004s
2. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura WorldSSP) +0.223s
3. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) +0.245s
4. Yari Montella (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.291s
5. Niki Tuuli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.341s
6. Stefano Manzi (Dynavolt Triumph) +0.564s
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