WorldSBK Phillip Island: McPhee podiums, Bulega wins in WorldSSP

Aruba Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega won the first WorldSSP race of 2023 in a weather-disrupted, red flagged opener at Phillip Island.

Vince64 Puccetti’s John McPhee scored a sensational podium on his debut in the series with equally impressive rookie Tarran Mackenzie finishing fifth on the Petronas MIE MS Honda.

On a day dictated by intermittent rain, the weather would cause all sorts of problems in a race that was red flagged after four laps before a delayed restart led to it being shortened to a ten lap sprint. Even then, a heavier shower in the final laps served to shake up the order right to the flag.

In the end though it was Bulega who emerged triumphant, scoring a first WorldSSP win for both himself and the Ducati Panigale V2.

Though the Italian began the weekend as one of the favourites, it belies his charge from 16th to first on the opening lap of the restart on an unusual afternoon that saw VFT Yamaha’s Nicholas Spinelli and McPhee complete an unexpected podium.

With rain in the air, the race began in dramatic circumstances when the clouds opened just as the riders lined up on the grid. With no track condition reference points for the riders to rely on and certain parts of the circuit more treacherous than others, the opening moments were a nervy affair as those with more confidence in the increasingly slippery conditions slalomed around those taking it more gingerly.

Shaking up the order with each turn as the bikes jostled for position, it meant the order at the end of the first lap took on an entirely different look to how it had started with EAB’s Glenn van Straalen - who started eighth - pulling ahead of Barni Ducati’s Yari Montella across the line.

The order would continue to change repeatedly though, with