SBK | Bulega and Iannone: the podium of rebirth at Phillip Island

Stories of beginnings, forced stops and restarts. It all starts again from Phillip Island, the island that remains in the hearts of those who see it for the first time and of those who, like Nicolò Bulega and Andrea Iannone, return to breathe after so much “freediving”. The official Ducati bearer arrived in Superbike as the reigning Supersport champion, an ascent that marked Nicolò's redemption until Race 1 in Australia today, where he lifted the victory trophy, the first in the premier class. A consecration that tastes like a return.

Looking at the podium, the beautiful all-Italian podium with Andrea Locatelli in second position, one cannot fail to notice that yellow tracksuit with the number 29 on the third step. Andrea Iannone returned to racing after the forced stop due to doping and did so in great style. He had shown that he had not lost his talent already in the winter tests, but he will hardly forget Race 1 at Phillip Island, where he not only rediscovered the adrenaline of the competition, but savored the joy of the podium again.

Superbike tells beautiful stories, of rebirth and revenge. And from Phillip Island they set off again, never wanting to stop again. “Maybe I still can't achieve it, but what can I say?”, says Bulega after the victory. “It's incredible, because winning the first race, setting the track record and pole position is what I did last year in Supersport, but now I'm in Superbike and it's a different story. In the last two laps I smiled a lot under my helmet. “You can dream as much as you want, but then it's different when you have to do it. It's definitely a dream come true and I'm happy to have won because now I feel less pressure having already won a race. Now I know I can do it. Scared rivals? No, not that, but I know what I can do and I feel less pressure.”

Watching him drive, he already looks like a veteran and the facts prove it. Dominator of the tests and winner of the first race. We are only at the beginning, certainly, but it is an excellent starting point: “I don't know where I made the difference, because I was very fast. But this morning I was very scared after FP3, because when I tried to do eight or nine laps, the tire was completely destroyed after 4 laps. It was very strange because both yesterday and in the tests I had been one of the best in tire management. We tried to find a solution that worked and I managed to be very quick. Not only with tires new ones, with which I almost always have an excellent feeling, but also with used ones, with which I have been very constant”.

“I made a bad start, but then when I found myself chasing I realized that in several areas I was much faster than the riders in front of me”, explained Bulega, entering into the detail of Race 1. “I thought that this depended on the fact that they wanted to save the tyres, so I thought that being a rookie I should do what the more experienced were doing, so I tried to do the same thing. But for me they were too slow, so at a certain point I decided to put myself I made some good overtakings and fortunately I also managed to conserve the tyres, perhaps due to my driving style, but I was able to push and at the same time save the tyres, which was good for me.”

Iannone also appeared relieved at the end of Race 1: “I relived all the old moments here, but also the bad ones of the four years away. I'm lucky because I have a good life, a beautiful family and a lot of support from my friends, but I don't You can live very well when you lose everything you love. You can have everything, but it's not what you want. I just wanted to get my bike back and now I have it. So now I want to enjoy it. Revenge? No, none. I'm just happy. I'm here, I'm back, maybe stronger, and I want to live this moment to the fullest.”

Andrea Iannone, Team Go Eleven, Nicolo Bulega, Aruba.It Racing – Ducati

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The rider's spirit never goes away and, despite knowing he is back after a long time, Iannone had that hint of competitive anger: “Honestly, I'm angry, because I made a mistake twice and lost the race. But in any case I think it was the best comeback I could imagine. At the start of the race I was in first position for several laps and it was incredible. I thought 'I'm not 100%, what happens now… It's my first race in four years and I'm first'. The feeling was good, everything was beautiful, but it's strange… I don't know, it's hard to explain, it's all incredible.”

“I'm still a little stiff, not 100% as I would like,” he explained when talking about his sensations on the bike. “I think about the past, when I was in MotoGP and I struggled a lot… But it was a long time ago and in the end I also had some problems with the engine braking setup. I stayed with the setting at the maximum and wanted to lower it during the race, but I couldn't do it, so I went through Turn 4 in second gear instead of first. So I lost a lot in the second sector, because the bike slipped as soon as I braked and I went straight twice when I returned to the track for the second part of the race, so Locatelli overtook me. But it's okay anyway, because the times and the pace are good. We'll see tomorrow”.

On Sunday the Superbike will take to the track for the Superpole Race and Race 2 (which will again be flag-to-flag). Who knows whether on these two occasions the rider from Vasto might think of a big shot: “I think we'll have a good opportunity. We'll see tomorrow. I'll certainly be more confident, because I'll have today's experience. However, it's a magical moment and I don't want think too much. I want to enjoy it and not get stressed. We are here after a long time and I came back with a great result. It's all new to me and I haven't worked with the team for two years, but I only started a few months ago. The crew chief is also new , so we still don't understand each other very well. From an electronics point of view we still have room for improvement. Now we are at 80-90% and I'm not 100% yet either. I have confidence in myself, but everything is new, even the format I've never tried. MotoGP is completely different.”