Nicolo Bulega is maintaining a cautious optimism ahead of the WorldSBK season opener this weekend despite being clear of the field during the final test at Phillip Island.

Bulega ended the second day of the Phillip Island WorldSBK test 0.6 seconds clear of second-fastest Sam Lowes and as the only rider to lap in the 1m28s.

The Italian quickie found a good feeling with the 2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R, which he briefly strayed from with some setup changes in the afternoon, although that was quickly resolved.

“Honestly, not so bad,” Nicolo Bulega told WorldSBK.com.

“I feel good with the bike.

“We tried something different during the second session, but then we came back because when you have a good feeling, when you are riding well and you can push well with your bike, with your package, with this setting, then when you try to make something different it’s not always very good. 

“So, we decided at one moment to go back to keep my feeling of this morning, and then everything [went] well.”

Bulega was asked what he wanted to work on during Friday’s free practices.

“Trying to improve because there are some things that I’m not so happy [about] with the bike,” he responded.

“I think if we can improve a couple of tenths it could be good.”

Although there is margin  to improve, though, Bulega was happy with his two days’ work in Australia.

“The most important is that I have a good feeling with the bike and that we are discovering some new areas with this bike that is new,” he said.

“So, we have a long work to do during this season but we started well.”