#EmiliaRomagnaWorldSBK Friday Debrief – Nicolò Bulega: “It’s a special race but I don’t feel more pressure.”

Nicolò Bulega topped the times in the combined sessions. He spoke about his improvements from the test last week: “I think we improve a little bit from the test also from this morning after FP1, we improve a little my feeling with the bike but still feel at 95%. We have to be a bit faster tomorrow.”

The track temperatures hit 51°C, Bulega said about the effects on his bike and himself: “Not a lot of effect on my bike but honestly it’s very hot and it’s difficult to make a long race with this odd temperature but it’s same for everybody, it’s our job. We train every day for these conditions so we are ready anyway but it’s hard conditions.”

Bulega was born in the Emilia Romagna region making this his home race: “It’s a special race but I don’t feel more pressure. Sometimes in the year you want something more in some races and this is one of the races that I would like something because it’s my home race and it will be very nice to win here in front of all the Italian fans and a lot of friends and sponsors have come to see me.”

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu finished second in both sessions with spoke about the heat and his tyres:  “On the second run with the tyres I don’t understand but the grip is not like the first tyre and I’m not easily riding the bike, it’s not easy to take the rhythm with the second new tire and also we try a different front fork that I don’t like but looks like we need more grip because the grip is not enough with this hot condition.

The afternoon proved hotter and was the session where most riders struggled: “This morning also not so bad, the afternoon, the track is getting more warm and we are starting to spin a lot, not just the spin. Also the engine brake has changed a lot because the rear less grip and engine brake not helping enter the corner. My biggest problem now is it’s not easy to stop in all the corners and also when I’m opening the gas, it’s not easy to accelerate because I feel a lot of speed. Tomorrow we need to improve something.”

Álvaro Bautista spoke of the hot conditions also: “Yeah I preferred this condition. This afternoon I felt more difficulties with the bike because in the morning we started with a mix of a set up that we tried using in the test, especially with my riding position that I changed in the test a little bit. We started with this and we also make a set up with the data we had from the test and straight away I feel not so bad in the morning but I missed some rear grip especially on entry and a bit on exit but we didn’t change for the afternoon because we wanted to try the front hard tyre. After a few laps, I didn’t have the good feeling on the front, just the braking was good but I then missed some grip.”

Bautista spoke about the news and using it for motivation: “I try to transform this energy into positive energy and that’s all. I mean when I’m riding the bike I’m not thinking about this. I’m just thinking about the riding and try to get the feeling and that’s all. Yeah as always I try to get all the feelings I had into something positive to help me to be even better. It’s not different because at the end I’m a rider and I try to do the best for my team, for my mechanics, for my crew chief, for my people. I tried to do the best because they worked really well and they deserve good results.”

Yari Montella found something today with being 4th fastest in combined and in the second session. He spoke of the improvements: “At the end it was a good day for us, I think we made a big step. Honestly this morning in FP1, I struggled a lot because after the test we found a completely different condition of the track and I was struggling to find my braking point because I couldn’t stop the bike, I was fighting a lot with the front. We made some adjustment I think and I’m in a condition in of myself that I need a little bit of much more time to adapt my riding style when the conditions change so at the end of FP2 was good because we started in the configuration with the tyre of the first session and was not so bad.”

Full Combined Friday Practice Times Order