Ducati Sporting Club UK > News Items > Ducati Press Releases > Bulega second and Bautista fifth at Portimao after free practice for the #PortugueseRound

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World Superbike | 2025 | R2 | Portimao (Portugal) | Friday 28 March 2025

Bulega second and Bautista fifth at Portimao after free practice for the #PortugueseRound

Friday's free practices for the #PortugueseRound, the second event of the 2025 WorldSBK season, ended with Nicolò Bulega in second place and Alvaro Bautista in fifth place.

Both Aruba.it Racing - Ducati team riders showed a good feeling for the Portuguese track, working on the set-up of their Ducati Panigale V4R machines and the choice of tyres ahead of the weekend's races.

After finishing FP1 in first place, Bulega improved his time by over seven tenths (1'40.294) in the afternoon to finish second in the combined timesheets, three tenths behind Razgatlioglu (BMW).

Friday also saw an improvement for Bautista, who did not use the new tyre at the end but still managed to lower his morning time by almost three tenths (1'40.706).

Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #11)
"I'm happy because this morning we made a step forward compared to the test and then managed to improve further in the afternoon. It was a productive Friday during which we got closer to Toprak, but he remains the weekend's favourite. If we can take another step forward tomorrow, we have all the credentials to be competitive".

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati #19)
"I admit to being satisfied with this first day. We started in Australia with some good sensations that we could replicate in the test and these first two free practice sessions. We have also collected essential data to try to understand what the right tyre choice will be for the races. We still have some work to do but are still very confident".