Nicolo Bulega is making the jump from the World Superbike Championship to MotoGP in 2027, where he will race a Ducati for Valentino Rossi's VR46 team alongside teammate Fermin Aldeguer, as Motorsport.com Italia reports.
Bulega's path to the premier class brings his career full circle. He was originally supported by the VR46 Academy and spent five years competing for the team across Moto3 from 2016 to 2018 and one season in Moto2. After parting ways at the end of 2019 following a lack of anticipated success, and spending two seasons in the Gresini Moto2 team, Bulega rebuilt his career with Ducati in the Superbike paddock.
Valentino Rossi expressed his enthusiasm for the reunion to Sky Sport MotoGP, noting that Bulega started with their Academy and that they know him extremely well. Rossi highlighted Bulega's extraordinary work in the World Superbike Championship and expressed strong belief in him given his familiarity with the bike and tires. VR46 racing director Alessio "Uccio" Salucci also welcomed the return, emphasizing that personal relationships never broke down and that he always felt their initial work together was unfinished.
During his earlier years in the junior classes, Bulega secured only two podium finishes, both coming during his 2016 rookie Moto3 season where he finished seventh in the world championship. Salucci reflected that Bulega was perhaps too young at the time to cope with the sudden shift of winning early races and reaching the podium, noting that massive investments of time, money, and human effort were made back then. Now, Salucci points out, Bulega has grown into a true man with the right attitude for top performance.
Addressing paddock speculation regarding Bulega's experience with Pirelli tires from World Superbike and prior testing with the 850cc machine, Salucci dismissed the idea that this was the decisive factor in his signing. He noted that current MotoGP riders only need about two hours to understand Pirelli tires, making it at best a minor advantage.
In terms of machinery, Bulega will take over the crew previously run by Franco Morbidelli, led by crew chief Matteo Flamigni, while Aldeguer inherits the team of Fabio Di Giannantonio with crew chief Massimo Branchini. While all six Ducati machines will start the season equal, Aldeguer holds an official two-year contract guaranteeing updates after the factory team. For Bulega, future technical updates depend entirely on on-track results, with Salucci explaining that the team must first evaluate the opening five or six races to see if they earn them, while also warning that the performance gap between official and unofficial bikes could become notable by the middle of the season.
