Phillip Island WorldSBK Test – Day 2

Bulega clean sweeps test as Ducati displays ominous form

The final day of testing at Phillip Island ahead of the WorldSBK season opener saw Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) continue his impressive pre-season form, leading a trio of Ducati riders at the top of the timesheets. Despite rain disrupting the final session, Bulega’s 1’28.680s lap in the dry morning session secured him the top spot, underlining his pace and consistency as a serious contender in 2025.

Bulega’s performance was nothing short of remarkable, completing 25 flying laps with impressive consistency—17 laps in the 1’29s and two falling into the 1’28s. He finished ahead of Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven), who was 0.482s adrift after completing 21 laps. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) rounded out the Ducati top three, finishing 0.499s behind his Ducati counterpart. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished fifth, demonstrating steady progress in building confidence with his machine after completing 38 laps.

WorldSBK reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) stepped up his game after a crash the previous day, finishing fourth with a best time of 1’29.247s. The Turkish rider completed 10 laps in the 1’29s and a few in the 1’30s, showing that while he remains close to the Ducati trio ahead, there is still some work to be done to match their outright pace. His best time of the day came in the final moments of FP4 with track finally drying out. Teammate Michael van der Mark finished 12th, lapping 1.268s slower than Bulega.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the leading Yamaha rider, securing sixth with a 1’29.493s. With teammate Jonathan Rea sidelined due to injury, Locatelli completed 24 laps, focusing on refining Yamaha’s 2025 electronics and chassis package. Meanwhile, Bimota continued to impress, with Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) finishing seventh and teammate Axel Bassani just 0.093s behind in eighth. Lowes completed 36 laps while Bassani logged 30, both demonstrating consistent pace and keeping the factory Ducatis in their sights.

Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) led the charge for Honda, securing ninth with a 1’29.812s, while teammate Iker Lecuona, still recovering from injury, finished 20th. Honda test rider Tetsuta Nagashima, who is set to race as a wildcard in the season opener, placed 17th with a 1’30.161s, having been one of the first to venture onto the damp track in FP4. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) suffered a low-side crash at Turn 8, briefly prompting red flags. The American completed 16 laps, finishing 16th with a 1’30.350s.

Remy Gardner and Dominique Aegerter had mixed results as they continued their preparations for the season. In the dry morning session, Gardner set a best time of 1’30.245s to finish that day in 15th, while Aegerter placed 17th with a 1’30.617s. Gardner looked on course to improve his position in the final session but was halted by a technical issue in the closing minutes.

With Ducati looking strong, reigning champion Razgatlioglu pushing to close the gap, and Yamaha and Bimota showing promise, the Phillip Island opening round looks set to be a cracker.

P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“I improved the feeling from yesterday, which was already good, so I think we have a strong package to start the race weekend. I’m happy with how the bike feels—everything is working well at the moment. Of course, we still have room for improvement, but I’ve already made a small step forward from yesterday, and if we can take another, that would be great. Testing is one thing—it’s important to have a good feeling, but at the end of the day, you don’t score points in testing. I’ll start Friday with a positive mindset, knowing we have a strong package, I feel good at this circuit, and the bike is working well here. Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going and improve a little more. I’m really looking forward to the first race of the year—finally, we’re getting started! I have to admit, I don’t enjoy testing that much; I prefer race weekends. Testing can get a bit boring, so I’m really excited to start racing.”

P2 – Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven)
“Unfortunately, we had rain and wet conditions in the afternoon for about an hour, which completely disrupted our strategy. But in any case, we worked very well this morning and understood a few things. For sure, we need a little more time, but we don’t have it. Now, on Friday, at the start of the race weekend, we’ll continue testing some things to decide on our setup for the races. In any case, I think we’re starting the season with a good feeling on the bike and with the team. Of course, there are still areas where we need to improve, but that’s always the case—we always push to improve and be ready for the weekend. I’m confident, and like I said before, I think we’ll start in good shape.”

P3 – Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team)
“It was good. This has been a really positive test since yesterday. I’ve found a good feeling with the bike, so I’m feeling optimistic for the weekend. For sure, the battle is tight because I think there are 7-8 riders who can fight for the podium. Right now, Bulega has something extra, but when it comes to the top 10 riders, I believe all of them have the potential to stand on the podium.”

P4 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad)
“After the crash, especially on the second day, we started off well because our main target is to find the right setup for the race. We finally found something, but we’re not 100% ready yet. After the crash, we lost two hours of riding, and the afternoon brought some rain, so we only got the last eight minutes to ride the bike. We found a few things, but we’re still not 100%, so we’ll see how it goes on Friday. The weekend is really important, and we’re doing our best, as always. I feel the same as before, but I’m continuing to ride the bike. We’re racers, and it’s crucial to keep riding. This is an important weekend because it’s the first race of the 2025 season. Even though I’m still not 100%, after a couple of laps, the pain isn’t too bad, and I can still ride without problems. We also did some good lap times on race tires, so I’m a bit excited for the first race!”

P15 – Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha)
“There’s work to do, we’re aware of that, but let’s take the positive things from the test. We were able to clock a decent amount of laps and gain useful data for the beginning of the season. We tried many things during these two days and now it’s time to put everything together to be ready for the first round. Now let’s enjoy a bit of time to rest and recharge our batteries, we need to be fully prepared for the season opener and I cannot wait to see all the Australians fans in Phillip Island!”