When it was still a rumor among garages and he was asked about it, Nicolò Bulega already warned that getting on the bike of a world champion could be a double-edged sword. “Any rider would like to get on Marc Márquez’s bike, but the risk of making a fool of himself is great,” he said from the paddock de Jerez during the last round of the Superbike World Championship. The 26-year-old Italian, runner-up in his category, asked for some time and at least some prior training so as not to arrive blind this weekend at the Portuguese GP. In his official debut, this Friday, he was one second behind the best time of the day, signed by Ducati Gresini owned by runner-up Álex Márquez. He certainly didn’t make a fool of himself, although it was enough for him to be 17th in a balanced and compact premier category like never before.
“Being able to ride this bike and wear these colors is an honor, a unique opportunity. Something that I will remember for the rest of my life,” Bulega told EL PAÍS after completing his first day as a MotoGP rider with flying colors on the most coveted machine on the grid. He gave himself a pass even though his opponents gave him a pass. “I was impressed. Arriving in Portimão, one of the most difficult circuits, with different tires and 30 laps of previous experience and being one second behind the best time is magnificent for a first day”, praised three-time champion Pecco Bagnaia, his garage partner and second placed this Friday.
Gathered with other riders, Bulega shook his head when asked how it went. A mixture of sensations despite the size of the matter. “For now it’s very difficult to enjoy it as it deserves, because to do that I would have to feel comfortable on the bike. When you think too much it’s a problem and you can’t be natural in your movements”, he acknowledged after being more technical than sentimental in his part with the media.
“The bike takes me, not the other way around. I don’t think I’ll start having fun until I have everything under control, and there are a lot of things to get used to. Riding MotoGP requires me to do the opposite of what I usually do on a motorcycle,” he summarized. The differences between the specialty premier class prototypes and the modified street machines used in the Superbike World Championship are notable. The brakes are more powerful, the chassis is more rigid and exclusive engineering advances force drivers to press countless buttons lap after lap, a mental exercise in caution when approaching 350 kilometers per hour on the track: “If you put all these small factors together, the difference becomes huge.”
Bulega, as he wished, did not arrive blindly for his MotoGP debut. Ducati accepted his conditions and took advantage of a tire test organized by Michelin to familiarize the Bolognese rider with the Desmosedici GP, the factory’s crown jewel. The cold and rain barely allowed him to test 30 laps on the Andalusian track, although his times were competitive and have already earned him praise from his colleagues. This Friday, the Italian was the most active on the track and accumulated 45 laps on the rollercoaster that is the Portuguese track. His recipe now will be to be patient and he will have another opportunity in Valencia: “In MotoGP, racing is good for us”.
Old acquaintance of paddock of MotoGP, Bulega was one of the great promises of Valentino Rossi’s academy, of which he was part until 2019. The Bolognese accumulated 99 races between Moto3 and Moto2 between 2015 and 2021, but only managed two podiums. Like many other talents that have not yet come to fruition, he then jumped to the Superbike World Championship, where he was Supersport champion in 2023 and has already had two runner-up finishes in the main category of the specialty.
The Italian, in fact, guarantees that the Superbike World Championship can be a better school for MotoGP than Moto2, which is part of the traditional ladder: “There are more electronics, the bikes are more powerful and you learn to ride a bike that has similar weight and speed”. The Italian Panigale V4 that Bulega uses in races is the same one that both Márquez and Bagnaia have to train in outside of competition.
Next year, the three-time Superbike world champion and great rival of the Italian, Turkish Toprak Razgatlioglu, will debut in the premier class with Yamaha. Bulega, in turn, will have to be content with remaining in the second stage of world motorcycling. A first title would bring him closer to a MotoGP berth in 2027, when changing regulations and tire suppliers could favor him. Accustomed to Pirelli tires that fit on Superbikes, Ducati has also renewed him as an official tester next year to take advantage of his knowledge of the tires of the future in MotoGP.
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