Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1532532
course, we still have room for improvement, but I've already made a small step forward from yesterday, and if we can take another, that would be great. "Testing is one thing—it's important to have a good feeling, but at the end of the day, you don't score points in testing. I'll start Friday with a positive mind - set, knowing we have a strong package. I feel good at this cir- cuit, and the bike is working well here. Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going and improve a little more. "I'm really looking forward to the first race of the year—finally, we're getting started!" Bulega added. "I have to admit, I don't enjoy testing that much; I prefer race weekends. Testing can get a bit boring, so I'm really excited to start racing." Second fastest overall was Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven Ducati), despite losing track time on a sunny and wind- free day one due to tech issues with his two bikes. He was 0.482 of a second behind Bulega. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati) was third quickest overall, making it as strong a Ducati end to the pre - season as everyone expected. Reigning champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Mo - torrad WorldSBK Team) was the first ripple in the otherwise clear Ducati pool of pace, and overall fourth fastest thanks to his best time from FP4. Toprak, like several other rid - ers, crashed on day one. Luckily, he did not seriously re-injure his damaged right index finger, but he took a heavy beating, none- theless. "After the crash, especially on the second day, we started off well because our main target is to find the right setup for the race," the defending champ, Razgatlioglu, said. "We finally found something, but we're not 100 percent ready yet. After the crash, we lost two hours of rid - ing, and the afternoon brought some rain, so we only got the last eight minutes to ride the bike. We found a few things, but we're still not 100 percent, so we'll see how it goes on Friday. The weekend is important, and we're doing our best, as always. "I feel the same as before, but I'm continuing to ride the bike," he added. "We're racers, and it's crucial to keep riding. This is an important weekend because it's the first race of the 2025 season. Even though I'm still not 100 percent, after a couple of laps, the pain isn't too bad, and I can still ride without problems. We also did some good lap times on race tires, so I'm a bit excited for the first race!" Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) is out of the first round of the new championship com - pletely after a big highside saw him break multiple bones in his left foot. Honda HRC had a positive test with Xavi Vierge finishing ninth on the CBR1000RR-R. "It has been a very productive test, and I think we did a great job, especially after day one," Vi - erge said. "We found something with the bike setup that gave me a good feeling and helped me improve my race pace, so I can say I'm ending the winter test season in a positive mood. We focused a lot on the electronics to better manage tire life, and we're happy with the progress we made in that area, too. We also practiced for a flag-to-flag situation, as that will be one of the key factors during this week - end's races, and we feel ready. VOLUME 62 ISSUE 7 FEBRUARY 19, 2025 P39 Nicolo Bulega sent a warning shot to the WorldSBK pack with some serious pace in testing. PHOTOS: GOLD & GOOSE