When he was still a voice in the pits and 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 himself ridiculous is great,” he said from paddock of Jerez during the last round of the Superbike World Championship. The 26-year-old Italian, second in his category, asked for some time and at least some preliminary training so as not to arrive blind this weekend at the Portuguese GP. On his official debut this Friday he lapped within a second of the best time of the day, set by second-placed Álex Márquez’s Ducati Gresini. Without a doubt he didn’t make himself ridiculous, even if only 17th place was enough for him in a main category as balanced and compact as ever.
“Being able to ride this bike and wear these colors is an honor, a unique opportunity. Something that I will remember for a lifetime,” Bulega told EL PAÍS after completing his first day as a MotoGP rider with flying colors on the most coveted bike on the grid. He gave himself a pass, even if his opponents gave him a vote. “I was impressed. Arriving at Portimao, one of the most difficult circuits, with different tires and 30 laps of previous experience and staying within one second of the best time is magnificent for the first day,” complimented three-time champion Pecco Bagnaia, his teammate and runner-up this Friday.
In a meeting with other drivers, Bulega shook his head when asked how it went. A mix of sensations despite the size of the issue. “For now it’s very difficult to enjoy it as it deserves, since to do so I would have to feel free 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 parts with the media.
“It’s the bike that gets me and not the other way around. I think I won’t start having fun until I have everything under control and there are many things to get used to. Riding the MotoGP requires me to do the opposite of what I usually do on a motorbike” he summed up. The differences between the prototypes of the main category of the specialty and the modified road bikes used in the Superbike World Championship are notable. The brakes are more powerful, the chassis is stiffer and the unique technical advances force drivers to push countless buttons lap after lap, a mental exercise to keep in mind when approaching 350 kilometers per hour on the track: “If you put all these little factors together, the difference becomes enormous.”
Bulega, as he would have liked, did not arrive blindly at 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 company’s flagship. The cold and rain barely allowed him to complete 30 laps on the Andalusian track, although his times were competitive and have already earned him compliments from his colleagues. This Friday the Italian was the most active on the track and accumulated 45 laps on the roller coaster of 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 managed to achieve only two podiums. Like many other talents who are not fully realized, he then jumped into the Superbike World Championship, where he was Supersport champion in 2023 and achieved two second places in the main category of the specialty.
The Italian, in fact, assures that the Superbike World Championship can be a better school for MotoGP than Moto2, which is part of the traditional scale: “There is 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 the race is, in fact, the same one that both Márquez and Bagnaia have to train outside of competition.
Next year the three-time Superbike world champion and great rival of the Italian, the Turkish Toprak Razgatlioglu, will make his debut in the premier class with Yamaha. Bulega, meanwhile, will have to be content with remaining in the second step of world motorcycling. A first title would bring him closer to a place in MotoGP for 2027, when changes in regulations and tire suppliers could favor him. Accustomed to the Pirelli tires that equip the 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.
