Bulega became the owner and master of the Barcelona Superbike test

A week before the celebration of the Superbikes Barcelona Motorfest, an event that will present activities for the public on and off the track, the pilots met for two days at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for a pre-race test which ended this Friday and where the Aruba.it Ducati rider and current second place in the World Championship, Nicolò Bulegabecame the benchmark, surpassing 1’40″172, below the circuit record held by his teammate Álvaro Bautista since 2023 (1’40″264).

But with some heart-stopping last minutes, the new BMW driver Toprak Razgatlioglu He finished by just 0.027 and therefore also came close to Bautista’s pole record.

The start of the day was changed by rain that poured down during the night so times didn’t start to improve until the afternoon. Danilo Petrucci, who suffered some technical problems at the start of the day, maintained the best time (1:40.601) until Bulega overtook it in the last 45 minutes. After him, also a former MotoGP Andrea Iannone (1:40.662).

Jonathan Rea closed out the top 5 (1:40.772), six tenths behind Bulega. The test helped him regain confidence and become the benchmark for the official Yamaha team as he left Andrea Locatelli by 76 thousandths. Sam Lowes, Van der Mark, World Championship leader Alex Lowes, who had two falls, and Rinaldi completed the top-10.

The two-time world champion Alvaro Bautistawho set the third fastest time on Thursday, had to settle for 17th place, 1.399 behind his teammate Bulega. At the end of the day he fell at turn 10.

Xavi Vierge (Team HRC) was once again Honda’s leader on the second day of testing. The Japanese brand recovered from a difficult first day where it had technical problems with both of its drivers at the same time. Vierge finished 19th (1’41.804), just behind fellow Catalan Tito Rabat (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing). Iker Lecuona was almost a second behind Castellbisbal.

Tickets at www.circuit.cat

Tickets to attend the Superbikes Barcelona Motorfest – Pirelli Catalunya Round (March 22-24) is available on the Circuit website in the form of single-day tickets and passes for the three days of the event, including all kinds of sports, gastronomic and leisure activities. All modalities guarantee, in addition to general admission, access to the paddock, Fan Zone, Food Market and Music Zone.

Music is another key element of the Superbikes Barcelona Motorfest with concerts by the bands Buhos and Els Catarres and a performance by DJ Mon, when the activity on the track ends on Saturday afternoon.