Nicolò Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was the fastest rider this Friday at the Estoril Circuit, ahead of debutant Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) and his teammate Iker Lecuona on the opening day of the Portuguese round. Local idol Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) also turned heads, finishing the day in fourth place.
Bulega dominated Friday, securing the top position in Free Practice 2 with a time of 1min35s432. The #11 rider was just 0.066s ahead of debutant Surra, who set his best lap of the day in the final minutes, clocking 1:35.498s. Lecuona took third with 1:35.516s, with less than a tenth of a second separating the top three.
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) finished Friday in sixth place, followed by Alvaro Bautista in ninth. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) finished 12th, Loris Baz (MGM Optical Express Racing) 15th, and Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) 20th, with the latter suffering a crash at Turn 7 during FP1.
Racing at home, Miguel Oliveira aims to return to the top five. The #88 rider, whose name has been given to Turn 7, finished fourth with a time of 1:35.816s. His teammate, Danilo Petrucci, was further back in 16th position.
Axel Bassani (Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was the highest-placed Bimota rider, securing fifth position with 1:35.844s, just a few hundredths ahead of his teammate Alex Lowes (seventh).
Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) closed the day in eighth place in the combined standings with 1:35.964s. His teammate, Somkiat Chantra, was 13th.
Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the highest-placed Yamaha rider, finishing 10th with 1:36.364s. Andrea Locatelli was three positions behind, while Remy Gardner crashed in the final phase of FP2.
Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) ended the day in 11th position with a time of 1:36.150s, missing out on the top 10 by just three thousandths of a second.
Friday's top six finishers at WorldSBK were: Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1min35s432; Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) +0s066; Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0s084; Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0s384; Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0s412; and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0s431.
