Nicolo Bulega 'not happy in every area' despite setting fastest WorldSBK test time

Nicolo Bulega says he is not yet happy with the 2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R in “every area” ahead of the final day of preseason testing on Tuesday.

Ducati introduced an updated version of the Panigale V4 R for this season, with updated aerodynamics and chassis characteristics, as well as a double-sided swingarm. But it had limited opportunities to test the bike in January as a result of wet weather at the January tests in Spain and Portugal.

The final test of the winter takes place this week at Phillip Island, and day one saw the first real dry running of 2026 for the World Superbike field. Bulega was fastest on day one of the test by just under 0.3 seconds ahead of Axel Bassani, the two Italians joined only by Marc VDS Ducati rider Sam Lowes in the 1:29s at the end of the first day.

Two-time WorldSBK runner-up Bulega was happy enough with this start to the test, especially as the dry weather meant he was able to get an understanding of the updated Panigale V4 R’s characteristics for the first time after the aforementioned wet weather in Europe.

“It’s not a bad way to start the week,” Nicolo Bulega told WorldSBK.com after the first day of running in Phillip Island.

“It’s important to start like this especially when you have a new bike. 

“During this winter, we didn’t try anything because of the weather, so today was the first true day of testing. 

“It was important to ride a lot, I did a lot of laps, so I’m happy, we did a great job and started very well.”

But Bulega added that he is not yet happy “in every area” of the new bike’s setup, although he accepts this is “normal” given the juvenility of the bike.

“I’m quite happy with the setup, but not in every area, so we have to try to improve some parts of the bike with the setting,” said Bulega.

“I think that’s quite normal, given this is the first day of serious testing. Let’s try to improve for the weekend.”

Looking ahead to the race weekend, Bulega refused to consider himself the favourite, despite winning four races from five World Superbike starts at Phillip Island.

“I don’t know if I’m the favourite, but this is my favourite track,” he said.

“Last year I had a hat trick and won my debut WorldSBK race here. 

“Today I started very well, but I think it’s still early to say anything about this weekend.”