Following a dominant showing in Superpole, Nicolo Bulega delivered another clutch performance to take victory in Race 1 of the WorldSBK season-opener at Phillip Island.

Bulega’s start was the only hiccup as he went from first to fifth during the early stages, however, an unriva🅘lled turn of spee🐻d prior to the pit stop sequence saw him take the lead. 

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Fellow WorldSBK rookie Andrea Iannone was the only ride♛r capabl꧙e of following Bulega initially.

But when the pit stops took place, Bulega💛 came out with a sizable lead which he controlled until the end of the race.

Bulega was unable to deliver the same type of result during either Sunday race, however, his stunning achievement is﷽ one that won’t go💛 unnoticed by his rivals.

A clꦛear title contender despite being a rookie, Bulega admitted post-race he was still in shock as to what he achieved.

“Maybe I still don’t realise but what can I say? It’s incredible,” said Bulega. “To win the first race and also take the lap record and pole position, it’s like 🦩last year when I was in WorldSSP but now, it’s in WorldSBK.

“I can’t say a lot becau💯se I still don’ℱt realise, it’s a good sensation. In the last two laps, I was smiling a lot under my helmet when I saw my pit board with 3.5s advantage.

“You can dream as much as you want but when you have to do it, it’s differen🌌t.

“It’s a dream come true and I💖’m happy to win the first race as I feel less pressure.”