Superbike / Iannone immediately on the podium: “A special moment”

A sweet awakening

It's time to shout 'Italy has awakened' at the end of Race 1 of Superbike a Phillip Islandand not only for the extraordinary victory of Nicolò Bulega making its debut in the top category of motorcycles derived from series production. The Australian podium, in fact, was completed by two other 'blue' drivers Andrea Locatelli and Andrea Iannone, the latter also taking his first Superbike podium in his first race in this series. A 3rd place obtained at the end of a long four-year disqualification which rekindled the emotions of the Abruzzo rider, author of 13 victories in the MotoGP championship in his career.

A special moment

There was no shortage of quick declarations at the end of Game 1, starting with those of the returnee Iannone: “I'm older but also a little faster – he has declared – it was a tough and difficult race for me, because it was my first after many years. Today we had the flag-to-flag regime, and at that moment I didn't understand anything. In any case I want to thank Ducati, my team and everyone. It's a special moment for me, thank you all so much.”

Mola mia (Don't give up)

2nd place for the Bergamo native Andrea Locatelliwho managed to make full use of the last lap available for the mandatory pit stop, climbing back up to the leading group after a complex start: “Honestly I was in difficulty at the beginning because I lost a lot of positions. We have to try to understand the reasons, but in the first part of the race we tried to stay in front as much as possible because it was important for us, given that we could maintain our pace and fight for the victory. In the end I was fast in the second half of the race. I believed in myself, I pushed and I recovered a lot. This is the work we did during the tests and free practice. The bike performed very well and we had the right pace, we'll try again tomorrow.”

The dream come true

Finally, the words of the Emilian Nicolò Bulegareigning Supersport champion but above all author of the first pole position and the first victory in Superbike on his absolute debut: “It's incredible, it's a dream. Pole position and victory in my first Superbike weekend is truly incredible. I thank my team because we worked a lot over the winter and arrived at the first race with an excellent package. Thanks to everyone, now I'm enjoying the moment and tomorrow we'll try again.”