World Superbike: More From Friday At Phillip Island

Yesterday at 02:45 PM

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made it two from two on Friday as he topped both Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 sessions at the beautiful Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit as he fended off Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) and teammate Alvaro Bautista on the opening day of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season. The #11 was the only rider in the 1'28s bracket as he secured top spot during the Australian Round.

Ducati remained the manufacturer to beat on Friday in Australia with Bulega once again leading their charge. 'Bulegas' set a 1'28.790s in FP2 to top the Friday timesheets as he led four Ducatis at the start of the Australian Round action, showing his consistency across a race stint. Second place belonged to Iannone on Friday's timesheets as he lapped four tenths slower than Bulega, while Bautista was third in the combined timesheets despite a crash at Turn 4 in FP2, with the #19 showing consistent pace during his longer runs.

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) completed the lead quartet of Ducatis as he took P4 with a 1'29.584s, set in Free Practice 1 and lapping around eight tenths down on Bulega's pace. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) surged into the top ten on Friday's combined timesheets with a 1'29.799s, finishing 0.016s clear of rookie sensation Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) who took eighth place. Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) was another who found time in FP2 after posting a 1'30.026s in the afternoon session. Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) was the final Ducati rider but still showed glimpses of potential, although he did have two crashes during the day; both came at Turn 10, with one in each session.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was able to get between the Ducatis at the front with a 1'29.599s set in FP2, finishing third in the session, although that only put him fifth overall. His day was disrupted by an FP1 crash at Turn 4 when he suffered a lowside fall, but he was able to re-join the action. Teammate Michael van der Mark was 13th overall after posting a 1'30.059s with his fastest time set in the second session, although there was very little between his FP1 and FP2 times.

Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the fastest Yamaha rider on Friday after his late FP1 lap of 1'29.739s put him fifth in that session and sixth overall. Next best for Yamaha was Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) who, like Aegerter, didn't find time in FP2; his 1'29.849s was set in the morning session. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished down in 17th place, while Tito Rabat (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) was 19th. Rabat's teammate, Bahattin Sofuoglu, was 21st but only around a tenth down on his more experienced stablemate.

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) continued to lead Bimota's charge with his 1'29.837s set in FP1 enough to secure ninth place. Teammate Axel Bassani wasn't far behind the #22 on the combined timesheets, with less than a tenth separating them. 'El Bocia' set a 1'29.916s in the opening session to secure 11th overall.

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) was 15th as Kawasaki's sole representative on the WorldSBK grid, finding two tenths between his FP1 and FP2 times as he set a 1'30.193s; his best time coming in the afternoon session. However, the #31 was just four tenths away from finishing in the top seve, showing just how tight the WorldSBK field is at Phillip Island.

Honda's charge was led by Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) although the Japanese manufacturer will be hoping for more as the weekend progresses, with the #97 in 16th place. His 1'30.205s put him just 0.012s down on Gerloff directly ahead. Teammate Iker Lecuona was two places behind Vierge with around four tenths between them. At the PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team, Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) was 22nd and rookie Zaqhwan Zaidi was 23rd and rounded out the WorldSBK field.

The top six from Friday's WorldSBK action:

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1'28.790s

2. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) +0.406s

3. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.725s

4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.794s

5. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.809s

6. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.949s

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