Episode 540: Bulega dominates but there were plenty of Phillip Island surprises

Is there any better for a race than Phillip Island? Well, given all the news at the weekend Steve and Gordo report from on the ground with the thoughts of the locals, the staff and the paddock on the bombshell news that MotoGP will move to Adelaide. Will WorldSBK follow? It certainly seems that way. On track, Nicolo Bulega was imperious as he starts his quest for global domination. The Aruba.it Ducati star man is a little more likeable than a bond villain and a hell of a rider. We break down his weekend which featured an incredible, almost unnecessarily, dominant performance in the wet conditions of Sunday. There are plenty of stories to follow this weekend. The first double podium for bimota since 1988 has confirmed the resurgence of Axel Bassani. His Sunday double will have given him a huge boast in confidence that this season he can be a closer challenger to his teammate, Alex Lowes. Lowes was one of the fallers in the wet conditions in Race 2 and we look at what caused many of the falls. The rise and fall of Independent Ducati's is set to be a big story this year. Steve said in our preview show that "on your good days you've got to take advantage of the package." Lorenzo Baldassarri certainly did that. The Italian, who refuses to acknowledge his season aboard a GMT94 Yamaha as a Superbike campaign, impressed the paddock this week. In testing he was quick but to withstand the pressure from Bassani in the closing stages of Race 1 was rewarded with his first career podium finish. Yari Montella had his first career front row and podium too. At BMW are the reigning World Champions in a tailspin? It depends on who you ask. That being said the two-day Portimao Test on March 9-10 will be critical for them. It was a weekend of highs and lows Miguel Oliveira. The rookie had everything thrown at him over the weekend. A superpole crash that relegated him to the back of the field was followed by two superb recovery rides in both conditions to leave him one point ahead of his teammate, Danilo Petrucci, in the standings. The performance gap between them seemed much higher this week. Yamaha's Xavi Vierge was the fastest man in blue this week but came away with zero points after a big crash in Race 1. Andrea Locatelli looked lost for most of the opening round but in wet conditions he found some confidence and came away fifth position. Thanks to Renthal Street for supporting the podcast. Head to the Renthal website for handlebars, sprockets, chains, and more, using the Fit Your Bike tool. www.renthal.com/road/ Sign up for for exclusive content from the MotoGP and WorldSBK paddocks patreon.com/paddockpasspodcast We have merch! Get your t-shirts, caps, hoodies and more here: paddockpasspodcast.com/shop