SSP Indonesia: Bulega out front on Friday at Mandalika

The Phillip Island island weekend saw Nicolò Bulega snatch full points after dominating the inaugural Supersport round of the 2023 season. And now, at Mandalika, it looks like he might do the same, considering that he and the team Aruba Ducati Panigale V2 rounded out Friday on top of the pile, thanks to a best time of 1'36.705, set during FP2.

What does stand out on the timesheets is the real equilibrium between the various manufacturers, the top five spots occupied by five different bikes. Bulega is in fact followed by the team Puccetti Kawasaki, the Triumph of Niki Tuuli, the MV Agusta of Marcel Schroetter and the Yamaha of Stefano Manzi, fifth despite a crash in the final stages of the second session.

De Rosa and Caricasulo top ten at Mandalika

Overall it was a great day for the Italian riders, with Raffaele De Rosa and Federico Caricasulo also making it into the top ten, seventh and tenth respectively with the Orelac and Althea Ducatis, with Jorge Navarro, Glenn Van Straalen and Valentin Debise rounding out the top ten.

Despite it being their first visit to Mandalika, Nicholas Spinelli and Andrea Mantovani also did well on day 1, the VFT Racing rider placing 11th and the Evan Bros rider 12th. The Hondas finished further back, with Mackenzie 16th and Norrodin 19th.

Combined free practice results in Indonesia