Nicoꦰlo Bulega’s debut WorldSBK season ended in second place, but it began in perfect fashion: with a win in Phillip Island.

Bulega’s victory in Race 1 at the Australian Round meant he was the first rider since Alvaro Bautista in 2019 — who happened to be his teammate la🍰st season — to win at his first attempt in World Superbikes.

“My first weekend༺ was incredibleꦬ, because [I achieved] pole position — that was already incredible,” Bulega told WorldSBK.com.

“Then, ev𝓡en more incredible was Race 1 because I won my first ever World Superbike race. It was something that I’ll remember for all my life.

He added: “We had the test a couple of days before and this helped me to arrive to the race with a little༒ bit of experience.

“I knew that I had to be perfect.

“[I thought] ‘You are a rookie, new bike, new asphalt, new circuit with that bike’, and they were other things to think about [during] all the race𝐆.”

Bulega explained that the victory was important to ju💝stify his move to♏ the factory Ducati team for his rookie season, straight from Supersport.

“Everybody for sure was very happy,” he said, “but I remember the face🌊ܫs of especially some people in my team, also my girlfriend, who look at me almost not believing this moment.

“Last year, when I signed the contract, someone was not 100 peඣr cent convinced to take me in the factory team already in the first year🦹.

“But someone else was convinced 100 🌊per cent, and I can see the faces, I remember the faces of those guys proud of themselves because they can say ‘Yes, it was a good choice to take this guy in the first year꧙’.

“My team did an incredible job, I did a good ꦚjob, and at the end to win was something out of my head, because I didn’t go to Australia to win, just for having fun in my first race.”