WorldSBK, Sportrik Media - Nicolo Bulega admitted it was not easy to maintain confidence during the opening laps of the Australian WorldSBK Superpole Race, as light rainfall affected conditions at Phillip Island.
Bulega dropped to fourth at the start, with Yari Montella taking the early lead while the Race 1 winner found himself behind the Lowes brothers. It took the Italian four laps to fight his way back to the front, after which he controlled proceedings to secure victory by 2.7 seconds.
“Very good result, another one,” Bulega said in his parc ferme interview on the WorldSBK international broadcast.
“It was a bit more difficult because the first laps with these little drops of rain were not very easy to stay confident.”
“But after some laps I started to ride better and then I won also this race and I’m really happy.”
Behind Bulega, the two Bimota riders, Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes, completed the podium. For Bassani, it marked Bimota’s first World Superbike podium, achieved after he decisively moved through the pack, passing Montella and using Bulega’s slipstream to break clear from the chasing group.
“It’s been really funny racing, especially in the start, the first three or four laps,” Bassani said.
“There was a little bit of chaos because of the light rain, but when I had the possibility to stay on the back of Nicolo, I knew it was the time to push. We managed to create a gap to the riders behind.”
“I’m really happy, especially because Alex is on the podium with me. Both Bimota bikes are on the podium. For me, it’s the perfect race.”
For Alex Lowes, third place represented a turnaround from Race 1, where he dropped to seventh during the latter stages.
“Yesterday I just seemed to go backwards in the race, I didn’t feel very good at all,” Lowes explained.
“Today we made some massive changes to the bike overnight, and I was trying to understand how to ride it the best I could. The bike was great and I’m really happy to have this podium.”
“Fantastic for Axel as well. He deserves his first podium with our team. He’s been riding fantastically and I’m really proud of the guys.”
The rain-affected Superpole Race not only delivered strategic complexity but also reshaped the grid for Race 2, underlining Bulega’s adaptability in mixed conditions at Phillip Island.
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