Beirer on Ducati and 850cc tester Bulega: “The advantage will be short-term”

The new MotoGP era will be officially ushered in on 1 December at the test in Valencia. On that day, the riders in the premier class will be on their 850cc bikes fitted with Pirelli tyres. Not everyone will have the chance to gain experience for next year during the tests beforehand – particularly those who will be riding for a different manufacturer in 2027. This includes runner-up in the World Championship, Alex Márquez, who is moving from Ducati to KTM. The Spaniard is taking it in his stride, however, saying he would prefer to wait until the final tyre specification has been finalised before testing.

One rider who is clocking up a great many test kilometres this year on the 850cc bike with Pirelli tyres is Superbike dominator Nicolo Bulega. The Italian is heavily involved in development work at Ducati, and he also has a great deal of experience with Pirelli tyres from the production-based World Championship. MotoGP champion Marc Marquez said at the opening press conference on Thursday at the Red Bull Ring that he expects Bulega to be strong next year. His brother Alex shares this view.

Looking ahead to next year, an imbalance is emerging in the paddock – experience with the new package will vary greatly at the start of the 2027 season. Furthermore, only the five rookies – Bulega, David Alonso, Daniel Holgado, Senna Agius and Izan Guevara – and the test riders are permitted to take part in the two-day shakedown test in Malaysia, which takes place on 29 and 30 January at the Sepang International Circuit.

Pit Beirer: “We, too, have excellent test riders in Pol and Dani”

Would it be worth considering – and also fair – to let the other regular riders test at the shakedown, for example? KTM racing director Pit Beirer has a clear view on this matter: “It’s a transitional period. It’s not easy to organise this fairly. Because when riders change teams, not everyone has the chance to do much testing beforehand,” Beirer conceded. “It looks as though Ducati has a very strong package with Bulega. He brings experience with the tyres and is working on this bike. But I think this advantage will only last for a short time. As soon as the bike gets up to speed in this paddock and the manufacturers start working intensively on the new bike with their riders and test teams, everyone will be in the mix. If you’ve got a rider right now who’s fully focused on the tyres and all that, then that’s good, but we too have excellent test riders in Pol (Espargaro) and Dani (Pedrosa). They’ll prepare the bike very well for the other lads. And they, too, will have the tyres for the production bikes available for training – we’re trying to prepare them well as well. We’ll have to wait and see, but there’s definitely a big question mark over how everyone will get off the mark. The rules for the shakedown test won’t be changed. There won’t be any special permission for the other riders. Everyone will start on the new bike at the right time.”

Immediately after the race weekend at Spielberg, an 850cc test with Pirelli tyres will take place at the Red Bull Ring. “On Monday we’ll have an important test. All the manufacturers will be on the same track with some good riders. We’ve decided to allow Pedro to ride our motorbike – to set the benchmark with the best rider we currently have in our group. He’ll take over from Pol, who in turn had a brilliant test at Mugello this week.”

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20.11.2026 - 09:55