#FrenchWorldSBK Friday Debrief – Nicolò Bulega: “It’s always important to try to beat your rivals.”

Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Nicolò Bulega topped the combined times on Friday after RoKiT BMW Motored WorldSBK Team’s Toprak Razgatlıoğlu focused on running a race simulation leaving him fourth-fastest in the times. Sam Lowes had a good day on the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team after engaging in some friendly fire with his brother Alex – bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team – on the practice starts. Pata Maxus Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli continues his good form after having his 2026 seat confirmed earlier this year in May and rounds out the top three of the combined times.

Bulega spoke about his pace on Friday: “I feel quite good. We improved a lot from this morning but it’s still not enough. We can improve on used tyres but I set a good lap time with new tyres. With used tyres it’s harder to manage the bike and sometimes I have a lot of movement at the rear. We need to find more grip but if we can improve that I can make another step. Of course, it’s always important to try to beat your rivals, and I know Toprak is very strong here. He was fast last year and was again today. I’ll keep working to improve and be stronger for the rest of the weekend.”

To Sam Lowes, this track is still fairly new which plays to his advantage in some ways and his pace was quick: “Today was really good. In that session we tried a longer run at the beginning, around 15 laps, and we had a few small issues but overall it was a positive day. Considering I haven’t ridden much here, last year was a disaster with the strange weather, today felt like day one for me. The rhythm and pace are much stronger than anything I’ve done here before. I feel we’re not far away, especially in the last sector where I can still improve a couple of tenths. We’re in the podium fight and close to factory lap times. It’s nice to come to a different track and be in the mix straight away.“

Locatelli talked about his feeling with the bike and what he aims to get from the Superpole tomorrow: “We started from a good base this morning and in the afternoon we tried to improve a little bit. The feeling was good and we worked in a good direction. The rhythm was good and I’m happy to be in the top three. The target is to keep working to improve for tomorrow, because it’s important to start as close to the front as possible. I’m aiming for the front row so we’ll try for that and then aim to make our race. Overall, it’s been a good start and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Full Combined Friday Practice Times Order