Ducati Sporting Club UK > News Items > Ducati Press Releases > Bulega heads the field on the first day of testing in Australia. Busy day of work for Lecuona who gets to grips with his Panigale V4R

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WSBK | 16 February 2026

Bulega heads the field on the first day of testing in Australia. Busy day of work for Lecuona who gets to grips with his Panigale V4R

After a winter marked by bad weather that effectively compromised European testing, the WorldSBK paddock moved to Australia, where intense sunshine lit up the first day of activity at the Phillip Island circuit.

Nicolò Bulega finished first in both the morning and afternoon sessions, confirming his strong feelings about the circuit where he achieved a fantastic hat-trick last year.

It was also a busy day for Iker Lecuona (76 laps completed), who was able to get to grips with the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team's Ducati Panigale V4R for the first time.

The second day of testing will start tomorrow at 9.10

Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #11)
"We got off to a good start, and I must admit that I immediately had a good feeling with the bike. This is very important, especially when you're on the track with a new model. We finally managed to lap consistently to collect a lot of data".

Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati #7)
"I'm very happy because the feeling on the bike was good. We worked hard, and the fact that the best lap came with a tyre that was already very worn is definitely a positive. I learned a lot today, but obviously there is still room for improvement".