Nicolo Bulega: ‘Maybe I still don’t realise, I was smiling a lot’
The opening WorldSBK round of the year saw Nicolo Bu💦lega become the first-ever WorldSSP champion to win on his premier class debut.

Following a dominant showing in Superpole, Nicolo Bulega delivered another clutch performance to take victory in Race 1 of the WorldSBK season-opener at Phillip Island.
Bulega’s start was the only ꦗhiccup as he went from first to fifth during the early stages, however, an unrivalled turn of spe🦩ed prior to the pit stop sequence saw him take the lead.
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Fellow WorldSBK rookie Andrea Iannone was ꦐthe only rider capable of following Buleg🅺a initially.
But when the pit stops🃏 took place, Bulega came out with a sizable lead which he controlled until the end of 𓃲the race.
Bulega was unabl⛦e to deliver the same type of result during either Sunday race, however, his stunning achievement is one that won’t go unnoticed by his rivals.
A clear title contender despiteꦉ being a rookie, Bulega admitted post-race he was still in shock as to what he achieved.
“Maybe I still don’t realise but what can I say? It’s incredible,” said Bulega. “To win the first race and also take the lap record and pole position, 💖it’s like last year when I was in WorldSSP but now, it’s in WorldSBK.
“I can’t say a lot because I still don’t realise, it’s a good sensation. In the last two laps, I was smiling a lot under my helmet when I saw my pit board with 3.5s adv🌳antage.
“You can dream as much as you want but when yo⛎u🍒 have to do it, it’s different.
“It’s a d🌳ream come true and I’m happy to win the firꦿst race as I feel less pressure.”