Ducati Sporting Club UK > News Items > Ducati Press Releases > Bulega and Bautista first and third respectively after Australian Round free practice

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World Superbike | 2025 WorldSBK - R1 - Australia (Phillip Island) | Friday 21 February 2025

Bulega and Bautista first and third respectively after Australian Round free practice

The first Friday of the 2025 WorldSBK season comes to a close, with Nicolò Bulega and Alvaro Bautista in first and third place in the combined standings.

At the Phillip Island circuit (Australia), the two Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team riders confirmed the good sensations they felt during testing earlier in the week, working effectively both on the set-up of their Ducati Panigale V4R machines and on understanding the behaviour of the tyres.

Nicolò Bulega set the fastest time in both FP1 and FP2, managing to lap with an extremely convincing race pace.
Alvaro Bautista also lapped with remarkable consistency, setting his best time in the morning session.

P1 Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #11) 1'29.790
"I'm satisfied with this Friday because we made a small further step compared to the tests. At the same time, though, we have to consider the many unknowns of the weekend, from the temperature, which will be much higher tomorrow, to the flag-to-flag, which can be tricky. It is clear that we arrive at the first race with great confidence, but we can still work to fix a few more details".

P3 Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #19) 1'29.515 +0.725
"I feel I've rediscovered a good feeling with the bike, which makes me the happiest. We worked well today despite the different conditions from earlier in the week. We still have margin, of course, especially in the third and fourth sectors where we can still make a small step".