Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega says he and the team “have lots of work to do” following WorldSBK testing at Portimao.
Bulega finished the test second fastest behind BMW’s Toprak Razgatlioglu, but the Italian was over half a second down on the reigning world champion’s best lap time.
The teams faced limited test time due to inclement weather in Portugal, which meant they could only run for half days on each of the two days of testing.
The championship leader was further restricted following a crash at Turn 11, from which the he was fortunate to walk away uninjured.
Bulega admitted it was a “difficult” test for the team after earning a treble of race victories in Phillip Island, but emphasised the end of the session showed promise for the upcoming weekend.
“It was a bit of a difficult test for us because we worked hard to find a good feeling, but it didn’t arrive,” Bulega said to WorldSBK.com.
“This morning [Day 2] I had a big crash on a very fast corner here in Portimao.
“Fortunately, I am good, but it was more difficult to work because we lost some time as a result, then later the rain made it a difficult and strange test.
“At the end of the session, the last 15 minutes, we were a bit better; we still have lots of work to do but in the end, we were a lot better.”
Alvaro Bautista: Ducati made ‘small changes’ in Portimao WorldSBK test
Bulega’s Ducati teammate Alvaro Bautista finished the Portimao test in eighth, over a second behind Razgatlioglu’s best time.
The Spanish rider elected not to test on Friday and instead opted for half a day’s running on Saturday.
Despite his limited track time, Bautista suggested he “felt good” on the bike but stressed would have to wait to see how it fairs in race condition.
“We were able to do some laps, especially in the morning, we started the day with the same setup that we finished the last round with, in Australia.” said Bautista.
“The feeling was good, I felt good on the bike. We made some small changes but nothing big. In the afternoon with the rain, the feeling was a bit worse because I couldn’t feel the tires as easily.
“In general, in the morning I felt good, the pace wasn’t too bad, but we will have to see what the conditions will be like on the race weekend. We prepared the base setup and we will adapt the package from there.”
READ MORE: Five things we learned from WorldSBK Phillip Island season opener
