Unfair MotoGP advantage? Nicolo Bulega contradicts Pol Espargaro

Even before Nicolo Bulega competes in his first full MotoGP season in 2027, there is already talk in the paddock about a potential advantage the Italian might have. The reason: whilst his future rivals are still busy with the current 1,000cc machines, Bulega has already tested Ducati’s new 850cc bike for 2027 on several occasions.

At the recent MotoGP weekend in Spielberg, KTM test rider Pol Espargaro described this head start as a massive and unfair advantage. Bulega, naturally, sees the matter differently.

“There’s not much to say about it. We haven’t done anything that breaks the rules,” the 26-year-old clarified ahead of the Superbike World Championship weekend in Cremona. “I’m a Superbike rider. So why shouldn’t I be allowed to test a MotoGP bike?”

Bulega emphasised that his role in the development of the new Ducati had originally had nothing to do with any planned move up to MotoGP.

The test rider role came before the MotoGP deal

“When we signed my contract with Ducati last year and were considering the possibility of me working as a MotoGP test rider, we didn’t yet know that I would be moving to MotoGP in 2027,” explained Bulega. The test programme had therefore not been designed to give him a head start for his future career as a full-time rider.

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“We’d already planned these tests before we knew I’d be moving to MotoGP. So it wasn’t a strategy,” Bulega assured, adding with a wink that whilst he had been toying with the idea of moving to MotoGP, he didn’t regard promotion to the premier class as a foregone conclusion: “It certainly wasn’t written down on paper that I’d be riding in MotoGP in 2027.”

Alessio Salucci mit VR46-Rückkehrer Nicolo Bulega

Foto: VR46

It was only during the course of the current season that the decision regarding his future was made. In 2027, Bulega will ride a Ducati for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Team and, as part of Valentino Rossi’s team, will succeed Franco Morbidelli, who is taking Bulega’s place at Aruba.

Bulega does not deny that the kilometres he has already clocked up on the 850 will help him settle in. At the same time, he rejects the impression that he can already tailor the new bike to his personal needs.

Bulega makes it clear: the 850 won’t be tailor-made for him

“When you’re working as a test rider, you can’t just try out whatever you fancy,” Bulega explained. “I don’t go into the pits or to Dall’Igna and say: ‘Please bring me this chassis because it’s better for me.’”

Instead, Ducati determines the development programme. “They give me 1,000 things they want me to test for them. I can’t say: ‘I want this, I want that, not this one, but this one I do.’”

That is why Bulega refutes the claim that the new Desmosedici GP is already being tailored to his needs. “It’s not true that the bike is being built for me. The bike is being developed for the factory riders. I’m simply testing whether I like certain things or not.”

Marquez has high hopes for Bulega

Whilst Espargaro takes a critical view of Bulega’s lack of experience, Marc Marquez spoke positively in Spielberg about Bulega’s prospects for 2027. The praise from the multiple MotoGP world champion went down well with the Italian.

“It’s naturally a pleasure for me to hear what Marquez said last week,” explained Bulega. At the same time, he warns against overestimating the value of the test kilometres he has covered so far.

Weltmeister Marc Marquez testete in Spielberg die 850er-Ducati

Foto: David Ulrich

Pirelli plays an important role in this. The Italian manufacturer will replace Michelin as the sole tyre supplier for MotoGP in 2027. Bulega has years of experience with Pirelli from the Supersport and Superbike World Championships and has also already tested the tyres developed for MotoGP.

However, he considers even this head start to be modest. “I know the tyres now. But the riders in MotoGP might need a day or two of testing to get to grips with them. I think that by the first race, everyone will be roughly on the same level when it comes to the tyres.”

MotoGP Pirelli tyres differ from Superbike tyres

Bulega also warns against assuming that his Superbike experience can be applied one-to-one. “It’s still a Pirelli, but it’s not a Superbike Pirelli,” emphasised the Ducati rider. “So the tyre is different. The front tyres are perhaps a bit easier to understand than the Michelins because the basic DNA is similar.”

Nevertheless, the required riding style differs. The difference is even greater when it comes to the bike itself. “The way you have to ride is slightly different to Superbike. Above all, the bike is completely different. That’s why riding a Superbike isn’t particularly similar,” explained Bulega. “But of course it’s good to have that experience from the Superbike World Championship, because there are similarities in some areas.”

Bulega acknowledges the advantage, but...

Bulega does not want to dismiss his head start entirely, however. After all, at the start of the 2027 season, he will be one of the riders who already have experience with the combination of the 850cc Ducati and Pirelli tyres.

“Of course, it might help me at the start to have already ridden this bike in a few tests,” he conceded. However, he expects this advantage to quickly fade away. Before the start of the new season, the regular MotoGP riders will have several testing opportunities available to them.

Bulega pointed to Márquez, of all people: “The riders in MotoGP are incredible. A rider like Márquez doesn’t need much time to get to grips with it.” Especially as, according to Bulega, not everything will change in the Ducati’s basic chassis. “The chassis is more or less the same as this year’s,” explained the future VR46 rider.

For Bulega, the debate is therefore relatively straightforward: the kilometres he has clocked up in testing will make his debut in 2027 easier. However, he wants nothing to do with a motorbike developed specifically for him or a decisive advantage over the established MotoGP elite.