One big story in the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is Toprak Razgatlioglu’s move to the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team. The #54 made the shock move for this season and testing at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto was the first time Razgatlioglu was seen alongside his rivals on the BMW M 1000 RR. He showed strong pace across both days and finished fourth on Day 2, having been in the top three all day, before Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) found huge improvements on the SCQ tyre.

Every team and rider will be looking to find time, performance and outright speed before the season starts in Australia in little under a month. With the extra challenge of adapting to a new bike and a new team, it was a busy test for Razgatlioglu but the 2021 Champion was full of praise for the gains he’s been able to make across the two days as he continued getting valuable mileage under his belt as well as trying new components.

Summing up Thursday’s testing action, and explaining where he found some gains, Razgatlioglu said: “We made some big improvements, but we also lost. We tried some new parts. Sometimes they were very positive, sometimes they weren’t so good. We are working because we need to improve the bike and I need to understand it. For me, everything is new, but every lap, I am understanding the bike character more. We did a 1’38s, we saw a lot of 1’39s. It’s a very positive test today especially with the race tyre, we are very strong, but we need to learn with the SCQ tyre and change the setup for grip. We’ve improved corner entry and I’m happy with the bike. We are still working on rear grip because it’s not fantastic.”

Razgatlioglu went on to discuss where his biggest problems are with the M 1000 RR and, having made gains on corner entry, where some of the focus would be for the next test at Portimao. BMW also tried some new swingarms on the bike and Razgatlioglu didn’t reveal which one was better, with more tests set to be done on this part of the bike during next week’s test in Portugal, the final stop before everything heads to Australia for the Official Test and round at Phillip Island.

“My biggest problem is at full lean and acceleration”, started Razgatlioglu. “The acceleration is not bad, but we need to improve it. At full lean, we need more grip. We are working on this. We are not far away, if we improve the rear grip, we’ll always fight for a podium. I’m very happy that we improved corner entry and engine brake. Step by step, we will improve all problems. Swingarm differences aren’t easy to explain. Sometimes, I think it’s very good, and sometimes worse. In general, we used the new one today, but we need to ride again at Portimao with the new swingarm. I’m not sure now. I used the old swingarm for the 1’38.6s, but we tried the new swingarm in the afternoon. I’m not sure whether it improved or not because, in hot conditions, the bike completely changes. We need to see at the Portimao test.”

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After revealing a neck injury was impacting him during his MotoGP™ wildcard, Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was back on a bike for the first time as he assessed his physical condition and prepared for the upcoming MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign. Although he was able to put in a lot of laps, the double Champion revealed on Thursday that he still had some pain despite improvements with the injury.

Bautista finished outside the top ten on both days, and was down in P16 on Thursday, although his day did finish earlier than a lot of his competitors and he fell down the order in the closing stages. He racked up 80 laps on Thursday with a best time of 1’39.583s, only dropping further down the standings as other riders did a time attack towards the end of the test. Speaking after the Day 2 action ended, Bautista provided an update on his neck.

The Ducati star said: “After Wednesday, the thing for Thursday is that it was better physically. I felt better. Not perfect. I have some pain still when I’m riding, especially in left corners, and I’m not so comfortable but it wasn’t worse than Wednesday. It has been a bit better so that means I’m improving my physical condition. We decided to make some different setups on the bike we chose on Day 1 to see if we find some positive or negative things, like we do in a normal pre-season to make the best base possible for the beginning of the season. We tried some changes to the setup, and we decided what could be better or worse. It was positive because I could do a lot of laps, even with some pain, but the thing is I didn’t have more pain.”

With the injury came a change in his training programme, with the Spaniard unable to train properly until recently as the injury healed. Bautista had been working with his physiotherapist to help speed the healing process up as much as possible but, due to the nature of the injury, it had to heal slowly. The reigning Champion went on to explain how this impacted his training and how he’s hoping for another step with his fitness at Portimao.

Talking more about his training, Bautista added: “I couldn’t train well in November or December, I just tried to recover with the physiotherapist. With a nerve, it’s always very slow and you can’t do too much. You have to wait and not force it. I started my training at the beginning of the year, just a few weeks ago. At the moment, the plan was to check my physical condition on the bike. Fortunately, I can ride. Not perfectly, but I can. I hope to take another step at Portimao. After the Portimao test, we will see. There’s no real plan. We have to go day by day.”

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Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) took second place of Day 2 at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto after another strong outing in Yamaha blue. In his third test for the team, the six-time Champion was close to his 2019 lap record as he gears up for the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship with Yamaha after his shock switch to blue. Although he was unable to top the times, his pace being close to the record will give everyone at Yamaha confidence heading into next week’s Portimao test.

Rea set a 1’38.345s to secure second spot, only behind rookie Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) who was unstoppable on Thursday at Jerez. The Italian was four tenths under the existing lap record set by Rea back in 2019, but the Ulsterman was not far off that either. His time was just a tenth away from the 1’38.247s he set back in the Tissot Superpole session in 2019, with Rea setting his time on his 21^st lap of the day today. He completed 78 in total on Day 2 and was left feeling positive at the end of the day.

“My feelings with the R1 are really good,” he began when reviewing the test. “Right from the first time I rode the bike back in November last year, I felt comfortable. I could feel the strengths of the bike and some of the areas we needed to work on. This test was more a case of picking up where we left it last November, trying a lot of test items. I think we struggled to make so much progress on Day 1 because we were trying so many items on some key areas, but last night, when the guys sat down, they were able to go through all the data and really understood the way forward. This morning, I felt great straight away. We’ve done a lot of positive laps, we’ve learnt a lot, and we’re happy with the progress and the findings we have to move onto Portugal.”

Yamaha have had lots of items for Rea, and teammate Andrea Locatelli, to try throughout off-season testing including a couple of swingarm variations at Jerez. Although Rea didn’t go into detail about the swingarms he had available to him, he did speak about a direction that he liked as he goes in search of a good base setup for the season-opening round in Australia, which takes place in just under a month.

On the upgrades that Yamaha are bringing, Rea said: “There’s a clear direction that I like, which is good. Yamaha have been working really hard behind closed doors to move the package forwards and I feel really grateful to be part of that. Sometimes it’s hard being a rider because you have to do a lot of laps out there, but you have to be at a very exact rhythm and get really clear and concise feedback. These are hard parts we’ll probably start the year with and become our base setup, so feedback’s important. Today, I tried my best to give really accurate information because Portimao will be a track we re-confirm some items, re-test some items but we have to be very clear about the package we’ll go to Australia with.”

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After stealing the spotlight on Day 1 at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, it was more of the same for rookie Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) on Thursday. He once again topped the times in Spain against the majority of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship but this time he did it by going under the official lap record by a huge four tenths as he became the first, and only, rider to lap in the 1’37s during the test.

After setting a rapid 1’38.292s on Day 1 using the SCQ tyre, Bulega improved that further early into Thursday’s running. In a four-lap stint just before midday local time (GMT+1), the 2023 WorldSSP Champion posted a 1’37.809s to surge into top spot with the first 1’37s of the test. In the same stint, two laps later, he set a 1’38.495s. Bulega’s time remained unbeatable throughout the day as he topped the times for the second consecutive day.

With the lap record set in 2019 by Jonathan Rea, then at Kawasaki, a 1’38.247s, Bulega was more than four tenths clear of this. Talking about his incredible lap and the test as a whole, Bulega said: “It was a solid test. We tried something that I liked. The time attack was very good and the pace was good all day with the race tyres. I’m happy with the work we’ve done during the first test of the year, and we’ll work hard for the next one. The lap time makes me very proud and very happy. The first test was incredible, and I already have a very nice feeling. The lap was obviously not easy to do. When I saw a 1’37.8s on my dash, I was smiling!”

Despite showing strong one-lap pace, and finding improvements with his race pace as he adjusts to the Panigale V4 R, Bulega refused to change his goals as he heads into his maiden season. He comes into the campaign full of confidence after a stunning WorldSSP campaign in 2023, while he was also quick at the Jerez test at the end of last season. He spoke more about what he expects from the season and also whether his rivals should be worried given his speed so far.

“It’s just a test! It doesn’t change anything. I’m still a rookie, I just want to enjoy my first season in WorldSBK,” began Bulega before expanding on what he’ll work on at the Portimao test next week, and talking about his rival. “I think there’s nothing special at Portimao, just to continue on this way and always getting better with my bike. I feel quite ready. Yesterday not too much, but today with the race tyre, I improved a lot and I think we can do well. I hope my rivals are worried! At the moment, I’m not sure, but I hope so!”

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Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) continues to impress as he gears up for his rookie MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign. ‘The Maniac’ was on his Independent Panigale V4 R for the second time and he secured a spot in the top five on Day 2 with eyes turning towards Iannone’s garage following impressive performances at Jerez in both the end-of-season test and the first test of 2024, including taking fifth at Jerez.

Iannone was quick on Day 1 as well as he finished inside the top ten and he backed that up on Day 2 with fifth place. He posted a 1’38.744s to claim P5 with 61 laps to his name, finishing just over nine tenths down on Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) after he set lap record place. Iannone was around half-a-second down on the actual lap record, with only Bulega beating it and most riders a few tenths or more away from it.

Discussing his test, Iannone said: “It wasn’t so bad. It’s our goal and focus to improve day by day. Today, we changed something on the bike, and we went a different way compared to yesterday. In the end, I’m quite happy. I need more kilometres, need to have more experience with the bike, the team and the tyres, but I think we finished the first test of the year in a good way. We’re not so far away. I think I did my best lap with the SCX tyre, so we are more or less the best rider! We struggled a little bit with the SCQ. I tried one Q tyre today, but we weren’t ready, the bike changed a lot, and I didn’t have experience. We’ll try it one more time at Portimao to change the setup a little bit and so the team understands what I want with this tyre. I used the race tyre well, but not the SCQ.”

Despite having a positive overall day, including a good outright lap time and the #29 referencing his race pace, there was some disruption. A small crash in the first half of the day disrupted his running slightly and Iannone explained what caused his spill, with the Italian able to return to the track after the crash and continue working on his return to action.

Discussing his race pace, where, in an 11-lap stint, he was only slower than the 1’39s on the first and last laps, as well as the crash, Iannone said: “I think my race pace was quite good. I don’t know about everybody else. We tried more or less a half race distance today and we, apart from the first laps, were always in the 1’39s. I think it’s good, but I think it’s a little bit early to understand everything and to say that we’re okay. At Turn 2, when I exited from the box and pit lane, I lost the front at 2km/h!”.

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Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was once again the rider to beat at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto as he lapped considerably quicker than the lap record pace. The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship rookie was unstoppable on Thursday, as he was on Wednesday, as the only rider to lap in the 1’37s bracket across both days to claim top spot for the second consecutive day after he lapped around four tenths under the existing lap record and secure P1 by more than half-a-second.

LAP RECORD PACE: a 1’37.8s for Bulega, Bautista in 16^th

Bulega recorded a 1’37.809s in the first few hours of the session, a time which would remain unbeaten throughout the day. For comparison, the pole lap record set in 2019 is a 1’38.247s, with Bulega more than four tenths quicker than this as the rookie’s potential was shown once again. Teammate Alvaro Bautista had been quick in the opening stages of the test but dropped down the order to finish in 16^th, lapping in 1’39.583s, and completing 80 laps, losing places in the final hour of the test as other riders found late gains.

Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven), like fellow rookie Bulega, impressed again. He claimed fifth on his Independent V4 R, 0.935s down on Bulega, although his day was interrupted by a crash in the opening sector of the lap in the afternoon. Despite this, he completed 61 laps. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) ensured Ducati had four bikes in the top ten as he took P9 with a 1’38.907s. ‘Petrux’, who was again trying a new, lower, seat, completed 73 laps. There were two other Independent Ducatis on track. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) was seventh as he continued adapting from Moto2™ to WorldSBK with 91 laps to his name and a best time of 1’38.852s after finding gains towards the end of the day, while Michael Ruben Rinaldi (Team Motocorsa Racing) was 15^th on his sole day of testing. He racked up 89 laps with a best time of 1’39.504s.

REA SECOND, GARDNER QUICK AGAIN: a good test for Yamaha

Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) was 0.536s down on Bulega’s best time at the end of Day 2. The #65’s 1’38.345s was only a tenth away from his own lap record from 2019 but wasn’t enough to claim P1 for Yamaha as he continued working on his new bike. Teammate Andrea Locatelli ensured both factory Yamahas were in the top ten as he added 73 laps to his total, with a best time of 1’38.943s. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) continued to show his speed as he took eighth, just a tenth behind Iannone, in P5 as he posted a best time of 1’38.871s, with Gardner  re-confirming items tested on Day 1 with some back-to-back comparisons. Elsewhere, Philipp Oettl (GMT94 Yamaha) was 12^th after his first test days on the Yamaha YZF-R1, finding a second between his best time on Day 1. With another 58 laps recorded and a 1’39.039s as his best time, the German was one of the most-improved riders, looking at lap times, between days as his mileage on his new bike increased.

REDDING IN THE TOP THREE, RAZGATLIOGLU P4: showing BMW’s potential…

Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) put in a stunning late 1’38.572s to claim third place and demote Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) to fourth. Redding completed 77 laps as he surged up the order in the final minutes of the day, while Razgatlioglu added another 78 to the collection for BMW. Razgatlioglu’s teammate, Michael van der Mark, was 13^th with 76 laps to his name, posting a best time of 1’39.224s. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) secured P6 with a late lap to move up the order. The American’s best time was a 1’38.832s and he added 74 laps to his total. In terms of the BMW test team, Sylvain Guintoli and Bradley Smith added 56 and 48 laps respectively, with the latter having a technical issue in the early stages of the day.

LOWES THE LEAD KAWASAKI RIDER: P11 for the Brit as Bassani takes P14

After a disrupted day on Wednesday while unwell, completing only 31 laps, Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) took part in the full day on Thursday. He was one of the busiest riders on track as he completed 82 laps and posted a best of 1’38.989s. The #22 wanted to spend today focusing on race pace and used tyre performance, particularly towards the end of a race distance. Teammate Axel Bassani was three places and half-a-second behind Lowes, although his time of 1’39.413s was around six tenths quicker than he set on Day 1. Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) was 18^th on his factory ZX-10RR, completing 76 laps with a best time of 1’40.100s.

ANOTHER DIFFICULT DAY FOR HONDA? Vierge P16, Lecuona P19…

Day 1 was challenging for Honda with both Iker Lecuona (Team HRC) and teammate Xavi Vierge both outside the top ten, and that continued on Day 2. Vierge was the lead Honda rider with a 1’39.915s and 73 laps completed while Lecuona posted a 1’40.237s in is 49 laps. Lecuona, who changed the bike a lot on Day 1 as it wasn’t working as expected, completed the fewest number of laps of the full-time WorldSBK riders at the test.

MANZI ON TOP: Italian leads the WorldSSP field, four manufacturers in the top four

2023 WorldSSP runner-up Stefano Manzi (Pata Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) took top spot in the World Supersport field with a 1’41.338s, completing 64 laps. He was three tenths clear of Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in second as he continues his comeback from arm surgery, while Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) took P3. With Bahattin Sofuoglu (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in fourth, four different manufacturers were inside the top four at the end of Day 2.

The top ten from Day 2 at Jerez:

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’37.809, 69 laps

2. Jonathan Rea (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) 1’38.345s, 78 laps

3. Scott Redding (Bonovo Action BMW) 1’38.572s, 77 laps

4. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’38.638s, 78 laps

5. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) 1’38.744s, 61 laps

6. Garrett Gerloff (Bonovo Action BMW) 1’38.832s, 74 laps

7. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) 1’38,852s, 91 laps

8. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’38.871s, 76 laps

9. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 1’38.907s, 73 laps

10. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Prometeon Yamaha) 1’38.943s, 73 laps

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The start of the 2024 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is edging closer and that means teams, riders and manufacturers will be refining their packages – particularly in terms of the new rules coming into effect for 2024. These include new weight regulations, where ballast might have to be added to a rider’s machine and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), as one of the lightest riders on the grid, has spoken about how this will impact him. At the Jerez test, Ducati Corse’s Technical Coordinator, Marco Zambenedetti, explained how both Bautista and Ducati are attempting to adapt to the new rules.

At the post-round Jerez test in 2023, Bautista spoke about how adding 7 kilograms to the bike made it different for him to ride as he first tried adjusting to the new rules. During the current test in southern Spain, Zambenedetti revealed that around 6kgs have been added to Bautista’s bike for the weight rules. Zambenedetti also explained that the double Champion had his training to try to gain more mass, while also talking about how Ducati were adapting to the rules.

Discussing how much weight has been added, and where on the bike, Zambenedetti said: “It’s quite easy, we’ve added 6kg more or less. Alvaro changed his training system, tried to get a bit more mass. The point is it’s 6kg. About where is a lot more complex. We are testing something that moves. First, we’d like to give him back the best feeling. The bike isn’t last year’s bike, we must forget about this, but try to give him a ballas configuration that isn’t so bad. We are working on this. We haven’t defined it at this moment. On the other side, we’re also working on engine configuration with fuel consumption and biofuel which is another big, important area to work.”

Speaking at the end of Day 1, Bautista said there were two directions the team were going in terms of the ballast added and he had a preference about which one to go in. This was put to Zambenedetti on Thursday at Jerez, who went on to explain that there isn’t yet a ‘clear idea’ about the direction to go and this might be decided when the WorldSBK paddock hits Australian in just under a month for the season opener. He also explained how, on Thursday, they were only working on one of the directions previously mentioned.

He added: “We have a lot of ideas and theories, but we are here just to test this. At this moment, we haven’t got a clear idea which is the best. Before Australia, or in Australia, we will close this experiment and we’ll start to work on a particular configuration. Today, we’re not testing both directions. We are improving a bit one direction, but we need to make a double check also in Portimao. It’s important that we have a reference at different tracks.”

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The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship returned to action for the first time in 2024 at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, where the majority of the grid is testing. Reigning Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) is on track for the first time since sustaining a neck injury at the same venue in the end-of-season test, an injury which impacted his running as a wildcard during the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang and something he admits “started to feel better in the last two weeks”.

HAS BAUTISTA RECOVERED FROM INJURY? “I was very worried but, lap after lap, I felt better”

With the Jerez test the first of 2024, Bautista hasn’t been since on a bike since the Malaysian GP in November. He spoke at Ducati’s recent launch event and stated that he was feeling much better, with the next step to ride his Panigale V4 R and see how he feels on track. On day one, he completed 68 laps, a figure that was exceeded by some riders but also not matched by a lot and set a best time of 1’39.847s to finish in tenth. Teammate Nicolo Bulega was the pace setter, 1.5s quicker than the two-time Champion although the #11 did utilise the SCQ tyre for his lap time.

Reflecting on his day and providing an injury update, Bautista said: “It’s not been the best day for me. I struggled a lot during this winter. I had a lot of pain in my injury after the Sepang race. I was really bad. I cannot have good training and I was working hard with my physiotherapist to recover. It wasn’t easy because November and December, I was almost with pain all day. I didn’t feet improvement. I started to feel better in the last two weeks, and I started to work more on myself. Riding the bike in the morning, the strength in my arm was really good, but the problem was in my neck and back. I felt a lot of pain. I was really worried but, fortunately, lap after lap, it felt better so I got more relaxed, and I could do a lot of laps but not with my best performance. I was thinking more about the pain than riding the bike.

THE CHAMPION DOESN’T GIVE CLUES: “I don’t know how much weight we’ve added…”

Once it was certain that he was physically better and ready for the new season, attention soon turned to the upcoming campaign. One big talking point has been the announcement of new rules, with a new weight regulation coming into force that’ll impact riders up and down the grid. The #1 explained that, while he was aware of the impact it would have on his bike, he did not know how much would be added or where, but that there were two options.

Expanding on how he’s adapting to the new regulations, Bautista said: “We did the job because, after the test last year, we decided to have two different bikes regarding the weight distribution. Today, I could compare both bikes and it was very clear which direction we’ll take for the future. I’m happy about that and I’m happy for the feeling I have with the bike. “I don’t know how much weight I’ve added. The engineers know how much and know where to add it. I don’t have these kinds of details. I just tell them if it’s better or worse. I don’t know! You’ll have to ask Giulio Nava or Marco Zambenedetti. It’s much worse to ride because, with more weight, you have more inertia, so it’s more difficult to turn in the corners and stop the bike. It’s more physical and all the areas are worse.”

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Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was one of the headline-grabbers on day one at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, despite feeling unwell as he headed to Spain. Completing only 31 laps, by far the lowest number of the full-time riders on the grid, the #22 was still able to take second place and put in impressive lap times on his ZX-10RR and even confessed that he was “surprised” at how fast he went on the SC0 race tyre during his limited running.

STRONG DAY DESPITE ILLNESS: surprise at the pace, more work to be done

Lowes’ best lap time was a 1’39.474s which he set on his 24^th lap out of the 31 he completed in total. With the Brit under the weather heading into the test, he opted for limited running on Wednesday to try and be in better shape for Thursday. Before Nicolo Bulega’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) late improvement, Lowes had been just a few tenths off the pace although the Ducati rider’s big gain late in the day meant everyone finished more than a second off his pace.

Reviewing his day and explaining the ups and downs of Wednesday at Jerez, Lowes said: “It was good, honestly. I couldn’t do many laps because I’ve been feeling properly sick. I didn’t think I was going to be able to ride this morning. I wanted to ride a bit today to hopefully feel better tonight and do a full day tomorrow. The pace was really good. I was surprised, especially with the SC0 tyre, at how fast I could be. After a couple of months off, you always wonder how you’re going to feel and I had such a good feeling in November, so I was really happy to start where I left off, feeling good on the bike and confident. Our biggest problem is used tyres and long run pace. I hope I can make a good step tonight physically to be able to work on that tomorrow. I enjoyed today and being back and nice to get the year started.”

NEW ITEMS TESTED: different forks and working to pick the bike up off the corner

With his 31 laps comparing unfavourably to the rest of the grid, Lowes will be hoping to feel better on Thursday, to get more mileage under his belt and work on the items that are at the test for both him and the team. The two-time race winner also expanded on where he wants to find improvements for the upcoming campaign, with a particular focus on long-run and late-race pace.

“I tried to dial myself in. I tried different forks which had a different feeling, especially on the trail braking”, Lowes said when discussing what he tested on Wednesday. “We need to try over more laps. The electronics stuff, we’re always working so hard to make small improvements on the bike and electronics can help with the lap time or the opposite if it’s not quite right. It’s a bit of a minefield. We’re not really working on corner entry but picking up the gas and driving off the corner, the balance between the bike spinning or wheelieing, and this stuff. What we’re trying to achieve is the most efficiency out of acceleration and also make the bike easier to use for the longer races. It’s really hard to make that compromise.”

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Rookie Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) ensured all eyes were on him on Day 1 at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto as he put in a lap that almost put him on record pace. The 2023 WorldSSP Champion was more than a second clear of his nearest rivals after utilising the SCQ tyre to full advantage although Bulega was quick to point out that he was aiming for improvements on the second day of testing for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field.

STARTING 2024 IN THE RIGHT WAY: “we are starting to understand each other in a good way”

Bulega recorded a lap time of 1’39.193s to initially go fastest around three hours into the day, before improving on that by almost a second during the final hour. On both occasions, he used the SCQ tyre, with the best time, a 1’38.292s, just half-a-tenth away from the all-time lap record set in 2019. His nearest rival was Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) who was 1.182s back on the #11, while teammate Alvaro Bautista finished in tenth place and 1.555s down on Bulega. However, the Italian did have a small technical issue towards the end of the day which he explained when his running concluded.

Explaining that problem and reflecting on a superb day for himself, Bulega said: “Not too many problems, we just had to put some more fuel in. I had a good feeling, almost like I wanted so this was important. I had fun with my bike and my team. We are starting to understand each other in a good direction. I think we are working in a good way, and I just need more laps on the bike. We were working on my position on the bike because this is completely different and bigger, so I need to adapt my body to the bike. We tried something different with the handlebar. Not incredible things, just to have a good base.”

LOOKING TO MAKE A STEP: “I have to work with used tyres”

However, despite his incredible pace using the SCQ tyre, Bulega outlined where he hoped he could find some improvements on the second day of testing to ensure he can fight at the front throughout races and not just be quick over one lap. While his one-lap pace has been superb for everyone to see so far, the 24-year-old explained that he wanted to find some more speed on used tyres on Thursday while continuing the work he and the team put in on Wednesday.

Expanding on his plan for the rest of the test, Bulega added: “Tomorrow will be about continuing the work we did today and trying to improve a bit more. Maybe we can improve with used tyres. I am fast especially with new tyres, but I have to work with used tyres. If I can be fast with used tyres, like I am with new, I can be competitive.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com