WorldSBK: he final weekend of the WorldSBK season started with Nicolo Bulega leading the way at Jerez for Aruba.it Racing – Ducati.
The Italian, 39 points behind Toprak Razgatlioglu in the standings, topped the times in perfect condition with a time of 1’38.587.
It wasn’t a perfect day for Bulega. He lost running in Free Practice 2 after a technical issue on his Ducati Panigale V4R. The problem was quickly identified and the Italian returned to the track to set his fastest time on during his final stint of the afternoon session.
Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was second in the combined times today. The Turkish rider wasn’t comfortable as he lapped the 4.423km Jerez circuit and completed his 30 laps in shorter stints than would be customary this season.
Sam Lowes returns to action this weekend having missed the previous round at Estoril. The ELF Marc VDS Racing Team rider ended the day third fastest at a venue that he has two Grand Prix victories at. He ended the day ahead of Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) with Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) fifth fastest. Iannone had a high speed crash at Turn 11 during the afternoon session.
A late lap by Jonathan Rea saw the Pata Maxus Yamaha end the day eleventh fastest. This weekend will be the final weekend of Rea’s glittering WorldSBK career.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“My day wasn’t bad but the feeling isn’t 100%. I think we have some margin to improve because I didn’t like the bike in some areas. Hopefully we can fix some setup problems for tomorrow. I had a small slide at the exit of Turn 1 and I came back to the garage because Iannone told me something I didn’t understand. It was just a small issue and the team fixed it quickly. Overall, we did a good job and I tried the different tyre options. I was fast today so if we can improve the bike a bit tomorrow I think we can be very fast.”
P2 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
“Friday didn’t start fantastically but I tried my best. We had one day of testing here and I felt better then but the weather is cooler now. That has changed the feeling a lot for me. We’re still looking for the best setup for the race, FP2 wasn’t bad, but we’re not at Bulega’s level yet. He’s always very strong here, so I expect him to be fast again in qualifying. I’m just focusing on the race because that’s what matters most. Realistically, it won’t be easy because Nicolo is very strong now but if we can improve tomorrow I think we can fight with him in the race.”
P3 – Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team)
“I know this track well from my Grand Prix days. Today was a good day overall. I’m still struggling a bit with my ribs, so while the performance is strong, I’m not sure I can manage the full race distance. Luckily, the bike’s working really well; it carried me a bit today. In the hotter conditions, with the way we’ve got the electronics set up, I managed to stay quite close to Nicolo. Let’s see what tomorrow brings. It’s the last round so I’m all in.”
Combined Results after FP2
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) – 1’38.587
2. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) – +0.088
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) – +0.279
4. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) – +0.422
5. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) – +0.441
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) – +0.618
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