Ducati, Nicolo Bulega does not hide his concern

Although he closed the second day of the 2026 Superbike tests, in Portimao, with the best time overall, Nicolò Bulega is not satisfied with what went on at the Circuit de l’Algarve, mainly due to the’inability to turn on the dry, given the bad weather that hit southern Portugal. The Ducati rider, who with Toprak Razgatlioglu&#8217s move to MotoGp is the number one favorite for the series-derivative World Championship, hopes to get more indications from the upcoming tests, in Australia on Feb. 16 and 17, but in the meantime he does not hide his concern.

“Unfortunately, this winter we have been very unlucky with the weather – the vice world champion told the official Superbike channels.

Today was the last day and it was raining again, so we decided to do a few laps even on the wet asphalt. Honestly, though, the conditions were really extreme: cold, a lot of wind and a lot of water. I did a few laps just to check that everything was okay before we left for Australia. The bike is new, so it was still important to ride a little bit’ even in the wet, but these conditions are not very useful”.

“When you have a new bike, you really need to do a lot of laps to understand it, also to allow the guys in the box to check that everything is working properly. Unfortunately, we haven&#8217t been able to test practically anything this winter, so we&#8217ll go to Australia like that and see how it goes. The official test at Phillip Island will be very important. The goal will be to stay on the track as much as possible and complete as many laps” he then concluded Bulega, who in 2026 will be contesting his third season in the top series-derived category.

The 2026 World Superbike Championship will open between February 21 and 22 at Phillip Island, the first stop on a calendar that will continue at Portimao in late March and Assen in April. In May, the championship will get into full swing with races at Balaton, Most and Aragon, before the Misano round in mid-June.

After the summer break it will start again on July 11 from Donington, then another break and the return in September with the Magny-Cours round. The season finale is all European: Cremona at the end of September, Estoril on Oct. 10 and closing in Jerez with races on Oct. 17 and 18, the last events of this year&#8217s rainbow series.