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Bulega tops WorldSBK on Friday at P.I. – MV takes WorldSSP pole TechTricks365


WorldSBK 2025

Round One – Phillip Island
Friday

A number of competitors suffered some problems this morning during FP1, including Scott Redding. The Brit made a couple of attempts at a run, only for those to be spoiled by technical gremlins on the Bonovo Ducati.

Toprak Razgatlioglu had a soft low-side at turn four this morning – Image Half Light

Toprak Razgatlioglu had a soft slide-off at turn four in the morning session but still managed to finish FP1 in sixth. Ahead of him was a Ducati 1-2-3-4 headed by Nicolo Bulega, while Andrea Locatelli was top Yamaha in fifth.

Nicolo Bulega continued to set the pace during the afternoon FP2 session. The Italian has been on another level throughout this week, and even after two days of testing and two lengthy sessions today, nobody can really hold a candle to him around here.  A 1m28.790 today a tenth away from what he set on Tuesday but still good enough to lead the field by four-tenths. Andrea Iannone ran him closest today.

Alvaro Bautista had a soft crash at turn four with 15-minutes remaining in the session. He was soon back out and having a red hot crack to finish the day third quickest ahead of Danilo Petrucci and Toprak Razgatlioglu.

The difficult week for Remy Gardner continued with the GYTR GRT rider down in 17th place, 1.5-seconds away from Bulega’s pace.

WorldSBK Combined Practice Times

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap
1 N Bulega Duc 1m28.790
2 A Iannone Duc +0.406
3 A Bautista Duc +0.725
4 D Petrucci Duc +0.794
5 T Razgatlioglu BMW +0.809
6 D Aegerter Yam +0.949
7 S Lowes Duc +1.009
8 Y Montella Duc +1.025
9 A Lowes bim +1.047
10 A Locatelli Yam +1.059
11 A Bassani bim +1.126
12 S Redding Duc +1.236
13 M Van Der Mark BMW +1.269
14 R Vickers Duc +1.379
15 G Gerloff Kaw +1.403
16 X Vierge Hon +1.415
17 R Gardner Yam +1.509
18 I  Lecuona Hon +1.886
19 T Rabat Yam +2.188
20 T Nagashima Hon +2.227
21 B Sofuoglu Yam +2.298
22 T Mackenzie Hon +2.655
23 Z  Zaidi Hon +6.617

WorldSSP Superpole

It had been a bruising two-day test for some earlier in the week and that continued on Friday when practice got underway for WorldSSP competitors on Friday morning. Luke Power went down and suffered a left shoulder contusion in the opening practice session while Filippo Farioli suffered a left ankle fracture in his tumble this morning.

Luke Power shrugged off his shoulder discomfort to make it out in the Superpole session and managed to finish 17th.

The same could not be said for his countryman, Harrison Voight. A last-minute call-up for the D34G team after their regular incumbent Glenn Van Straalen was injured during testing on Monday, Voight had finished the morning practice session 14th but could not complete a lap during the Superpole session due to technical problems with the Panigale V2. Voight went out numerous times only to return to the pit box to report problems and never managed to set a lap time. Officials can give him dispensation to start tomorrow, but I would not be surprised if the youngster reverts back to his original plan to ride a McMartin V4 R in Australian Superbike tomorrow, as ASBK Qualifying does not take place until Saturday morning.

It was a happier tale for Oli Bayliss on Friday. Oli has had his fair share of rough runs during the past couple of years in Europe, but the 21-year-old looks to have found his footing with the PTR Triumph squad. It was a tough start to the week with a hefty tumble on Monday that left him well battered, but they found some good speed on Tuesday and have carried that through to the race weekend. Bayliss secured seventh place on the grid with a 1m32.814, half-a-second off pole. He has had limited time to adapt to the Triumph before the season got underway, so this bodes well for Bayliss.

Pole went to Bo Bendsneyder despite a crash on the MV Agusta Reparto Corse F3 800 RR that saw him head to the medical centre for a check-up after injuring a toe.

Tom Booth-Amos qualified second on a PTR Triumph, while Lucas Mahias rounds out the front row on a GMT-94 YZF-R9 Yamaha ahead of Can Oncu on an Evan Brothers R9.

WorldSSP Superpole Times

Pos Rider Bike Time/Gap Speed
1 B Bendsneyder MV 1m32.310 264,5
2 T Booth-Amos Tri  +0.189 270,5
3 L Mahias Yam +0.325 271,8
4 C Oncu Yam +0.334 278,8
5 V Debise Duc +0.414 273,9
6 J  Masia Duc +0.455 273,2
7 O Bayliss Tri +0.504 268,4
8 S Manzi Yam +0.531 265,1
9 M Schroetter Duc +0.539 273,9
10 M Rinaldi Yam +0.579 268,4
11 X Cardelus Duc +0.635 269,8
12 L Taccini Duc +0.781 273,2
13 N Antonelli Yam +0.891 270,5
14 A Mahendra Yam +0.914 267,1
15 J  Alcoba Kaw +1.141 268,4
16 O Vostatek Duc +1.317 268,4
17 L Power MV  +1.515 264,5
18 S Jespersen Duc +1.764 271,8
19 L Veneman Duc +1.801 272,5
20 L Arbel MV  +2.761 261,3
21 S Azman Hon +2.872 269,1
Not Qualified
NQ K Toba Hon / 255,1
NQ H Voight Duc / 259,4

2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar

Date Circuit WorldSBK WorldSSP SSP300 WCR
21-23 Feb Phillip Island X X
28-30 Mar Portimao X X X
11-12 Apr Assen X X X X
2-4 May Cremona X X X
16-18 May Most X X X
13-15 Jun Misano X X X
11-13 Jul Donington X X X
25-27 Jul Balaton Park X X X
5-7 Sep Magny-Cours X X X X
26-28 Sep Aragon X X X
10-12 Oct Estoril X X X
17-19 Oct Jerez X X X X

 

 


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