Wꩲhile Bautista is still waiting to be crowned WorldSBK champion for the second season in a row following Portimao, Bulega was crowned WorldSSP champion for the first time in his career.

Breaking Yamaha’s dominan꧑ce atop the Supersport category, Bulega became Ducati’s first intermediate champion after getting the better of Stefano Manzi in Race 1.

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The achievement came on the same day as Ducati clinched the Manufacturers’ cha🃏mpionship in WorldSBK, thanks to Bautista winning Race 1 in dominant fashion.

Bautista needs two points from a possible 62 at the season-finale in Jerez to make it a second WorldS🉐BK title for himself, and Ducati’s third since 2011. 

But when looking ahead toꦍ what his new teammate will bring, Bautista was full of praise: “I think it’s been an almost perfect season. He won a lot of races, and, for me, he was the strongest rider in the category. 

“Congrats to him because he did really 🍃well in the second year wi♏th a new bike, with the Ducati. 

“His riding style is aggressive, maybe because he’s a bit big, and you see him riding aggressively. He’s very precise. He doesn’t make aꦉ lot of mistakes, he’s very consistent with his lap times in a race and he worked really well with the team. 

“I know his work method. He’s a very complete rider. I think he has a good level and he’s done a lot of tests with th🐬e W൩orldSBK machine, with the test team. 

“He did rea💖lly well, he impressed the Ducati guys because he went very fast at many tracks. I ex⛦pect him to be fast from the beginning. 

“It’s🐼 nice to have more riders with talent like him in this category because it ma𒅌kes the Championship, and the level will be higher.”

Dominant in the Supersport category, much like Bautista has been in WoཧrldSBK, Buelga called his title win ‘incredible’.

Following his Race 1 achievement, Bulega added: “I feel𝕴 incredible. After a lot of hard work with my team and alone at home, in the end I am and we are World Champions. 

“I came here to this paddock and this team with a bad menta🥀l situation. I didn’t enjoy riding the bike and I wasn’t at the top of my training. 

“I tried to change what I thought wasn’t the best to try to go faster. I𓃲n the end, the hard work pays off. It’s incredible. 

“To feel a manufacturer is b💞ehind you gives you some pressure, but maybe I needed that kind of pressure. Every time I see my bike, I like it. It’s very emotionaꦜl to win the first title for Ducati in World Supersport.”