| Bulega (P2) incisive in the final tests before the Australian round. Bautista seventh. Huertas ready to debut with the Panigale V2 in SuperSport. |
The final tests before the start of the 2024 WorldSBK season concluded today at the Phillip Island Circuit. It was an intense day for Nicolò Bulega and Alvaro Bautista who completed 86 and 83 laps respectively. The Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team riders took advantage of the morning session to get familiar with the new asphalt while in the afternoon they focused on set-up and different tyre solutions ahead of the first race weekend to get underway on Friday morning at 11.20am local time (1.20am CEST) with the first free practice.
Nicolò Bulega confirmed the excellent sensations he felt in both the Jerez and Portimao tests by finishing second in the combined standings. Reigning World Champion Alvaro Bautista worked on the final details to find the best set-up in light of the new weight balance regulations.
Test Day - Combined Standings
P1 T. Razgatlioglu (BMW) 1'28.511s
P2. N. Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +0.074s
P3 A. Locatelli (Yamaha) +0.324s
P4 A. Iannone (Ducati) +0.490s
P5 A. Lowes (Kawasaki) +0.700s
P6 M. Rinaldi (Ducati) +0.702s
P7 A. Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #1)
Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #11)
"I am very satisfied and I think this is my best day of testing in the whole preseason. Both at Jerez and Portimao I was very fast, especially on the time attack, while today the feeling was great also on the race pace. We have worked well so far and I can't wait to get back on track on Friday."
Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #1)
"Since the start of pre-season, this is the first day I've been able to focus on working to improve my feeling with the bike without having to worry about my physical condition. This makes me very happy even though there is still a lot to do to be in the best condition. Anyway, I am looking forward to getting on track from Friday to work on the details that need to be fixed to be competitive during the weekend”.
Adrian Huertas climbed aboard the Ducati Panigale V2 of the Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP team for the first time at the Phillip Island circuit (Australia), ending the Supersport test day with 54 laps completed and the best time of 1'32.290.
WorldSSP Test Day - Final Results
P1 Y. Montella (Ducati) 1'31.881s
P2 F. Caricasulo (MV Agusta) +0.062s
P3 S. Manzi (Yamaha) +0.302s
P4 A. Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) +0.409s
Adrian Huertas (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team #99)
"I am very satisfied with what we did during the test. After a morning in which we familiarised ourselves with the new asphalt, immediately collecting positive sensations, in the afternoon we made a race simulation with a very encouraging pace. We still have to fix some details but we arrive at the first round of the season with great confidence".
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