Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) led the field on Day 1 at Phillip Island with a commanding performance. Ducati riders filled four of the top five spots, with Andrea Iannone (Pata GoEleven) and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) securing strong positions.
Despite a crash in the morning session, Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) recovered to claim third, with a best time of 1’29.334s.
Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) impressed as the best rookie, finishing eighth with a time of 1’29.982s.
Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was ruled unfit for the season opener after a crash in FP1, suffering multiple fractures to his left foot. He was in P15 at the time of the incident, with a lap of 1’30.885s.
Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was the fastest of the bimota riders, finishing P6 with a lap of 1’29.883s.
P1 - Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“We had only one day and two sessions, but I can say that I have a good feeling. However, like I said, everyone will improve a lot, so we have to improve as well. But for the moment, I’m happy. We just tried to do some normal tests because this winter we didn’t test much due to the weather conditions. I just tried to ride my standard bike and complete a lot of laps without changing too many things. I prefer not to change too much and instead focus on understanding where I can improve myself, not just the bike. Now that I think I am at a good level, we need to also work on improving the bike and continue doing more laps. Regarding the Flag-to-Flag race, we will have it this weekend.”
P2 – Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven)
“We struggled a lot today because we had many problems with some new parts on the bike, and in the end, there was a lot of confusion in the garage. But in any case, we worked through it, and it wasn’t so bad. My pace is okay, so tomorrow should be interesting as I have a big plan to try something new. Also, with the tyres, because today I used the same tyres as last year. We will see how it goes, but in the end, it wasn’t so bad. I hope we work well tomorrow, without stress, and put everything together. Today was difficult for us, but that’s the target, and we’re focused on it.”
P3 – Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team)
“For me, it was a very strange crash. We checked the data, and I was at 39% throttle when I had the high-side, because the traction wasn’t working properly. I don’t know why, even after talking with my electronics guy, and he also checked it. We still don’t know the reason, but anyway, it’s not too bad—I’m lucky there are no broken bones, but I feel pain everywhere, especially in my hand. In the afternoon, we rode again because I needed to understand the bike better and work on the setup. By the end of the day, we had a good pace, understood the bike more, and found a good setup. Tomorrow will be another day, and I hope we can find a better setup. The pace is okay for now, but I need a little more. I feel much better for the race weekend because we have three or four days, so I’m just focused on my bike, as we need a good setup. Everything seems to be going in a positive direction, but the only disappointing thing was the strange start. Anyway, this is racing.”
Combined Results after FP2
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 1’28.765s, 71 laps
2. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) +0.498s, 53 laps
3. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.569s, 34 laps
4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.947s, 54 laps
5. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +1.063s, 80 laps
6. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +1.118s, 59 laps RESULTS
WorldSSP
- A commanding 1’32.127s lap in FP1 put Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) at the top of the timesheets, giving him a seven-tenth advantage over the rest of the field.
- Returning to WorldSSP after three years in WorldSBK, Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) led Ducati’s efforts with a 1’32.827s lap, securing second place.
- One of the few to find improvements in FP2, Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) climbed to third overall with a best time of 1’33.007s.
- Steady progress throughout the day saw Marcel Schroetter (WRP Racing) improve in FP2, securing fourth on the Ducati Panigale V2.
- Making an immediate impact, 2023 Moto3™ World Champion Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) set the third-fastest time in FP1 before ending the day fifth overall.
- Glenn van Straalen (D34G WorldSSP Racing Team) and Yuki Okamoto (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) both fell at Turn 12. Van Straalen was declared unfit due to a concussion, while Okamoto was ruled out with a coccygeal fracture and dislocation. Federico Caricasulo (Althea Racing) was also declared unfit after sustaining a right wrist (distal radius) fracture and facial trauma during the session.
P1 - Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse)
"It was a good day, almost a perfect day to be first. It was a difficult day in the end because there were many red flags, so we couldn't do too many laps. But even with that, the feeling from the first laps was good, so I can't complain. I hope we can continue this line, but for sure the other riders will improve tomorrow, and we also need to improve a little bit. We will try to do a race simulation. We also have to do 10 laps and change tyres, so it will be a special race here. It’s my first time changing tyres during a race. We will do a race simulation, maybe a time attack, and still have some things to test because, like I said, we didn’t get many laps today. So, there's still a lot of work to do. Let’s see, but I hope we can stay like this. We started in a good way, so I want to fight for the podiums every race. That’s the target."
Combined Results after FP2
1. Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) 1’32.127s, 38 laps
2. Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) +0.700s, 54 laps
3. Valentin Debise (Renzi Corse) +0.880s, 39 laps
4. Marcel Schroetter (WRP Racing) +1.004s, 38 laps
5. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +1.049s, 43 laps
6. Filippo Farioli (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) +1.104s, 31 laps