WorldSBK returned to Portugal for the Estoril Round, with Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) back to his familiar position at the top of the timesheets in Free Practice.
The Italian set the pace with a 1’35.432, demonstrating both speed and consistency at the penultimate round of the season. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) emerged as his closest challenger, finishing second in both practice sessions.
Bulega completed 19 laps in each session and led Surra, with teammate Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) third on the combined timesheets. The top three were separated by less than a tenth of a second.
The home crowd had reason to celebrate as Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) delivered a competitive performance to finish fourth fastest. The Portuguese rider set his best time on his final lap of the day.
The bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team focused on race simulations, with Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes completing longer runs during the afternoon session. The pair ended the day fifth and seventh fastest respectively.
After enjoying his strongest round of the campaign last time out, Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) carried that momentum into Estoril. The rookie finished eighth, just over half a second off the pace, after completing 34 laps.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“Today was much better than the Friday in Cremona. I needed to get my good feeling back with the bike so I’m happy with today. I’m missing the last 10% but overall I’m okay. It’s just the small details that we’re missing. It’s a little bit under braking and a bit for turning into some corners. Cremona was difficult because there was a lot of stress over the weekend and I wanted to win the championship at home. But I’m now free mentally and I’m ready to race.”
P2 – Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing)
“I had the new SCX tyre for my second run but I had a good feeling with the bike all day. We improved another thing after Cremona to make another step and I’m really happy. I have a good pace and a good lap time, lap after lap. I’ll try for the best result.”
P3 – Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“I felt really bad on the bike this morning and I struggled a lot with stopping the bike, turning and with grip. We found something for FP2 and even though the lap time was very similar it was more consistent and faster. I’m happier with the bike and we know a little bit more about the direction we need to follow for tomorrow. I think we’ll make very small changes to the front or rear of the shock but we won’t make a big change to the bike. Let’s see tomorrow.”
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