“I find it difficult to drive fast”

#find #difficult #drive #fast

Ducati factory rider Nicolo Bulega, as Supersport champion and Superbike rookie one of the best in all pre-season tests, is convinced that the time for tactics is over. “Now everyone is putting their cards on the table,” said the 24-year-old after finishing second in free practice on Friday.

When looking at the results list, many people are surprised: Aruba teammate and world champion Alvaro Bautista is only in 12th position, a good half a second behind the best time of Alex Lowes (Kawasaki).

With only one rear tire specification available at Phillip Island, there was no shenanigans on Friday as usual when there are options ranging from soft to hard.

What was going on at Bautista?

“A difficult day,” groaned the three-time champion. “I also had a technical problem in FP2, but overall I’m pretty happy. We have made a few small adjustments to the bike since the test and they are working. My feeling for the motorcycle is coming. Everyone pushed as hard as if the race only lasted three or four laps. I worked to be quick and not destroy the tires in the maximum eleven laps planned.”

Alvaro emphasizes that despite the shortened race distance from 22 to 20 laps and the mandatory pit stop with tire changes between laps 9 and 11, the durability of the rear tire will play the crucial role.

“You can’t drive 1:29 minutes low for ten laps,” he emphasized. “You have to manage the tires at least a little bit, even over this distance. The SC1 rear tire is too hard for me and I find it very difficult to drive fast with it. When it’s colder and it’s windy, I find it particularly difficult in some areas of the route. On Saturday the weather is expected to be warmer and the wind less. That helps everyone, but maybe a little more for me.”

Where does Bautista see himself in the races?

“Hard to say,” he mused. “Many drivers are close together and I don’t know what each individual’s strategy is. My main focus is to reach my personal limit and that of the motorcycle. After Superpole we will make a plan for the race. Because of the flag-to-flag, it’s not a normal race and it’s difficult to make predictions.”

Combined times Superbike World Championship Phillip Island, FP1/FP2: Pos Driver Motorcycle Time Diff 1. Alex Lowes (GB) Kawasaki 1:29.042 min 2. Nicolo Bulega (I) Ducati 1:29.101 + 0.059 sec 3. Andrea Locatelli (I) Yamaha 1:29.197 + 0.155 4. Danilo Petrucci (I) Ducati 1:29.237 + 0.195 5. Michael vd Mark (NL) BMW 1:29.264 + 0.222 6. Sam Lowes (GB) Ducati 1:29.292 + 0.250 7. Andrea Iannone (I) Ducati 1:29.323 + 0.281 8. Michael Rinaldi (I) Ducati 1:29.343 + 0.301 9. Remy Gardner (AUS) Yamaha 1:29.349 + 0.307 10. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR) BMW 1:29.407 + 0.365 11. Philipp Öttl (D) Yamaha 1:29.514 + 0.472 12. Alvaro Bautista (E) Ducati 1:29.572 + 0.530 13. Dominique Aegerter (CH) Yamaha 1:29.623 + 0.581 14. Xavi Vierge (E) Honda 1:29.815 + 0.773 15. Axel Bassani (I) Kawasaki 1:30.085 + 1.043 16. Jonathan Rea (GB) Yamaha 1:30.097 + 1.055 17. Bradley Ray (GB) Yamaha 1:30.753 + 1.711 18. Scott Redding (GB) BMW 1:30.896 + 1.854 19. Garrett Gerloff (USA) BMW 1:31.231 + 2.189 20. Iker Lecuona (E) Honda 1:31.315 + 2.273 21. Tito Rabat (E) Kawasaki 1:31.341 + 2.299 22. Tarran Mackenzie (GB) Honda 1 :31.863 + 2.821 23. Adam Norrodin (MAL) Honda 1:32.649 + 3.607 times Superbike World Championship Phillip Island, FP2: Pos Driver Motorcycle Time Diff 1. Alex Lowes (GB) Kawasaki 1:29.042 min 2. Nicolo Bulega (I) Ducati 1:29.101 + 0.059 sec 3. Danilo Petrucci (I) Ducati 1:29.237 + 0.195 4. Michael vd Mark (NL) BMW 1:29.264 + 0.222 5. Sam Lowes (GB) Ducati 1:29.292 + 0.250 6. Andrea Iannone (I) Ducati 1:29.323 + 0.281 7. Michael Rinaldi (I) Ducati 1:29.343 + 0.301 8. Remy Gardner (AUS) Yamaha 1:29.349 + 0.307 9. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR) BMW 1:29.407 + 0.365 10 .Philip Öttl (D) Yamaha 1:29.514 + 0.472 11. Andrea Locatelli (I) Yamaha 1:29.522 + 0.480 12. Alvaro Bautista (E) Ducati 1:29.572 + 0.530 13. Dominique Aegerter (CH) Yamaha 1:29.623 + 0.581 14. 30.753 + 1.711 18. Scott Redding (GB) BMW 1:31.155 + 2.113 19. Garrett Gerloff (USA) BMW 1:31.231 + 2.189 20. Iker Lecuona (E) Honda 1:31.315 + 2.273 21. Tito Rabat (E) Kawasaki 1:31.341 + 2.299 22. Tarran Mackenzie (GB) Honda 1:31.863 + 2.821 23. Adam Norrodin (MAL) Honda 1:32.649 + 3.607 Times Superbike World Championship Phillip Island, FP1: Pos Driver Motorcycle Time Diff 1. Andrea Locatelli ( I) Yamaha 1:29.197 min 2. Alex Lowes (GB) Kawasaki 1:29.303 + 0.106 sec 3. Sam Lowes (GB) Ducati 1:29.717 + 0.520 4. Remy Gardner (AUS) Yamaha 1:29.755 + 0.558 5. Andrea Iannone (I) Ducati 1:29.885 + 0.688 6. Michael Rinaldi (I) Ducati 1:29.924 + 0.727 7. Nicolo Bulega (I) Ducati 1:29.949 + 0.752 8. Alvaro Bautista (E) Ducati 1:30.034 + 0.837 9 .Dominique Aegerter (CH) Yamaha 1:30.350 + 1.153 10. Toprak Razgatlioglu (TR) BMW 1:30.354 + 1.157 11. Danilo Petrucci (I) Ducati 1:30.455 + 1.258 12. Jonathan Rea (GB) Yamaha 1:30.495 + 1.298 13. Philipp Öttl (D) Yamaha 1:30.752 + 1.555 14. Michael vd Mark (NL) BMW 1:30.808 + 1.611 15. Scott Redding (GB) BMW 1:30.896 + 1.699 16. Xavi Vierge (E) Honda 1 :31.004 + 1.807 17. Axel Bassani (I) Kawasaki 1:31.030 + 1.833 18. Garrett Gerloff (USA) BMW 1:31.437 + 2.240 19. Bradley Ray (GB) Yamaha 1:31.443 + 2.246 20. Iker Lecuona (E) Honda 1:31.682 + 2.485 21. Tito Rabat (E) Kawasaki 1:32.404 + 3.207 22. Tarran Mackenzie (GB) Honda 1:32.416 + 3.219 23. Adam Norrodin (MAL) Honda 1:33.862 + 4.665