Bulega quickest on the opening day of the Motul Indonesian Round

March 3, 2023

Nicolo Bulega topped both Free Practice session as he set his fastest time in FP2, improving by more than 3s his morning time.

Can Oncu concluded Friday in second place just 0.024s off Bulega. 0.046s behind Bulega is Niki Tuuli in third place, it’s his first-time racing at Mandalika with Triumph.

The times tumbled during the FIM Supersport World Championship as Free Practice 2 concluded during the Motul Indonesian Round at the Pertamina Mandalika International Street Circuit as riders found several seconds between FP1 and FP2. All riders improved their time in the second session with Championship leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) fastest in the combined classification with the top four riders separated by less than a tenth.

Bulega’s best time of the day was a 1’36.705s to end Friday on top as he looks to continue his winning run in WorldSSP having won the first two races of 2023. He was 0.024s clear of Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) in second place after he posted a 1’36.729s. Finnish rider Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph), a race winner here in 2022 when with MV Agusta, was third and only 0.046s. German rookie Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) took fourth spot with a gap of only 0.079s to Bulega, while Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) was fifth at the end of the day’s running despite a Turn 16 crash with just over 10 minutes in FP2 to go in the session. It meant that five of the six manufacturers competing in 2023 were represented in the top five.

Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) had been competing for top spot but dropped down the order to sixth place, and only 0.173s down on Bulega, while Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing Team) was seventh. Caricasulo was 0.266s down on Bulega’s time and had his FP2 disrupted in the final seven minutes after a Turn 2 crash.

WorldSSP action resumes on Saturday with the Tissot Superpole from 09:55 (Local Time), followed Race 1 at 12:00.

WorldSSP Combined Results after FP2
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team) 1’36.705s
2. Can Oncu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) +0.024s
3. Niki Tuuli (Dynavolt Triumph) +0.046s
4. Marcel Schroetter (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +0.079s
5. Stefano Manzi (Ten Kate Racing Yamaha) +0.161s
6. Raffaele De Rosa (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +0.173s

P1 | Nicolo Bulega | Aruba.it Racing WorldSSP Team | 1’36.705s
“I started this morning in a good way. I felt good with the bike … not 100% like in Australia but the feeling is not so bad. We need to improve the bike for tomorrow as we’re struggling a bit more compared to Australia because of the high temperature. We need to improve the braking because when I’m braking, I can feel the rear sliding too much. I think today, the track was difficult because there was a lot of sand on the asphalt, but the track conditions were much better in FP2. I think tomorrow the track conditions will be much better, and it will also be our second day here so everyone will be faster, but I will try to do my best as always.”