Bulega warns Miller, Morbidelli and Binder: SBK move is no sure-fire success

The Superbike World Championship is set to welcome a number of high-profile new signings for the 2027 season. With Brad Binder, Jack Miller and Franco Morbidelli, three established MotoGP riders are making the switch to the production-based World Championship. Championship leader Nicolo Bulega is convinced of the trio’s potential, but warns of the challenges involved in the move.

Binder will take over from Danilo Petrucci at BMW, whilst Miller will succeed Xavi Vierge at Yamaha. Morbidelli will succeed serial winner Bulega at Ducati. The Italian is currently on course for the Superbike World Championship title and will, for his part, move up to MotoGP in 2027.

During the race weekend at Magny-Cours, Bulega was asked about the three high-profile new signings. The Ducati rider does not expect the move from MotoGP to automatically lead to success in the World Superbike Championship.

How will the MotoGP race winners settle in with the Superbikes?

“I don’t think it’ll be easy, because they’re currently riding completely different bikes with significantly more power and very different tyres,” explained Bulega. An additional factor for 2027 is the change of tyre supplier in both world championships. Pirelli will supply MotoGP in future, whilst Michelin will take on the role of sole tyre supplier for the World Superbike Championship.

This means that riders moving from MotoGP to the World Superbike Championship will still be using Michelin tyres, but Bulega warns against making overly simplistic comparisons. “Next year the tyres will come from Michelin, but they won’t be comparable to the Pirelli tyres used in the World Superbike Championship or MotoGP. It will be similar for them: the Michelin tyres from MotoGP won’t be the same as the Michelin tyres in the World Superbike Championship. But the DNA may at least be similar.”

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The Italian sees the biggest difference in the motorbikes anyway. “The motorbike is completely different. I think the change will be very similar to my own transition when they actually all take this step.”

Bulega has no doubts about the riding ability of the SBK rookies

Bulega has no doubts about the riding skills of Binder, Miller and Morbidelli. All three have already won races in MotoGP. “They’re certainly very strong riders. If you’re racing in MotoGP, you’re definitely good. If you’re not good, you don’t even get there in the first place. They were in MotoGP and won races, so they were fantastic. I think they can be even faster in the World Superbike Championship.”

Jack Miller

Foto: Gold & Goose

Bulega knows from his own experience that a change of category can give a career a new lease of life. In the Moto2 World Championship, the Italian was unable to fulfil his potential as he’d hoped. It was only after moving to the Aruba Ducati team that he made his breakthrough in the Supersport World Championship, before going on to establish himself as a top rider in the Superbike World Championship too.

How the Superbike paddock gave Bulega’s career a new lease of life

“When I was racing in Moto2, my situation was very dire,” Bulega recalled. “I knew I had the speed in me, but I needed someone like this team to help me bring that speed back to the fore.”

That’s why Bulega believes it’s entirely possible that the Superbike format might suit some of the riders making the switch from MotoGP better. “If a few MotoGP riders come over here next year, it certainly won’t be easy, because the bike is different. Perhaps your riding style suits a Superbike better, or perhaps a MotoGP bike. Some riders might be better suited to the Superbike World Championship and others to MotoGP. We don’t all ride in the same way. It depends very much on how well you can adapt to the bike.”

Nicolò Bulega ist Supersport-Weltmeister

Foto: Gold & Goose

Bulega does not attribute his own development to the fact that he is fundamentally faster today than he was during his time in Moto3 and Moto2. Rather, he says he has learnt to make better use of his abilities and to work in a more structured way.

“I don’t think I’m any faster, because I’m still the same person. But perhaps I now have a better understanding of when the time is right to ride fast,” explained the Italian. “I have more experience and understand a better way of working. In the World Superbike Championship in particular, the electronics and how you work with them play a much bigger role than in Moto3, Moto2 and the World Supersport Championship.”