Official: Nicolo Bulega returns to VR46 – this time as a MotoGP rider!

What had been on the cards for months is now official: Nicolo Bulega will become a MotoGP rider in 2027. The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Team has confirmed the 26-year-old Italian as the successor to Franco Morbidelli, whose MotoGP career will come to an end after the current season.

The two Italians are effectively swapping places. Morbidelli will move to the World Superbike Championship in 2027, taking Bulega’s place at Aruba.it Ducati. Bulega, meanwhile, will remain with Ducati, but will swap the Panigale V4R for the MotoGP Desmosedici.

Return: Bulega is back with Valentino Rossi’s team

For Bulega, this brings things full circle in a remarkable way. The Italian is returning to a paddock and a team that played a decisive role in his career. Even as a young rider, he was part of Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Riders Academy.

Nicolo Bulega fuhr bereits von 2016 bis 2019 für VR46

Foto: Gold & Goose

In 2015, Bulega won the Junior World Championship, thereby earning his promotion to the MotoGP World Championship. His Grand Prix career began in 2016 with the VR46 team in Moto3.

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11.09.2026 - 08:55

His rookie season was promising. Bulega stood on the podium twice, secured pole positions and finished the World Championship in 7th place. However, the expected next step failed to materialise in the following two years.

Nicolo Bulega erlebte in der Moto3 und Moto2 einige schwierige Momente

Foto: Gold & Goose

In 2019, Bulega moved up to Moto2 with VR46. Yet even in the middle Grand Prix class, he failed to make the breakthrough he had hoped for. After two years with VR46, he moved to Gresini for the 2021 season, but failed to secure a podium finish there either. At the end of 2021, Bulega finally left the Grand Prix paddock. His dream of competing in MotoGP thus seemed to have receded into the distance for the time being.

Back on the road to success with Aruba-Ducati

The move to production-based racing proved to be a turning point in his career. In 2022, Bulega competed in the Supersport World Championship with Ducati. In his very first season, he finished the world championship in fourth place.

Nicolò Bulega ist Supersport-Weltmeister

Foto: Gold & Goose

A year later, he dominated the championship. Riding the Ducati Panigale V2, Bulega won 16 races and secured the Supersport World Championship title in commanding fashion. His performances convinced Ducati to promote him to the factory Superbike team for 2024.

There, too, Bulega needed hardly any time to settle in. He claimed victory in his very first Superbike race at Phillip Island. In his rookie season, he emerged as Toprak Razgatlioglu’s closest challenger and finished the World Championship in second place.

Superbike-WM 2026: Nicolo Bulega und dann lange nichts

Foto: Gold & Goose

In 2025, he secured the runner-up spot in the world championship once again. Although Bulega was once more pipped at the post by Razgatlioglu in the title race, he definitively established himself as one of the fastest riders in the Superbike World Championship on the Panigale V4R. In the current season, following Razgatlioglu’s move to MotoGP, Bulega has taken on the role of Ducati’s great hope. The World Championship title is now merely a formality.

Bulega is already familiar with the MotoGP Ducati

It had been clear for some time that Ducati had plans for Bulega beyond the World Superbike Championship. The Borgo Panigale-based manufacturer increasingly involved its Superbike star in the MotoGP project.

Bulega actually made his MotoGP debut at the end of 2025. Stepping in for the injured Marc Marquez, he contested the final two Grand Prix weekends of the season for the Ducati factory team and gained his first racing experience on a MotoGP prototype.

Nicolo Bulega beim MotoGP-Test in Valencia

Foto: Gold & Goose

Even more important with a view to 2027 is his role in the development of the new 850cc Ducati. Bulega has already ridden the prototype – which is being developed in line with the new MotoGP regulations – on several occasions.

His extensive experience with Pirelli is also proving beneficial here. The Italian tyre manufacturer will replace Michelin as the official tyre supplier for MotoGP in 2027. Bulega knows the Pirelli tyres from his years in the Supersport and Superbike World Championships better than almost any other future MotoGP rider.

Marc Marquez mit der 850er-Ducati beim Brünn-Test

Foto: David Ulrich

Most recently, the 26-year-old was impressed by the progress made on the new Ducati. Although the 850cc prototype has less power than the current 1000cc model, the gap in lap times is already surprisingly small. Bulega described the current situation as a very good starting point.

His entry into MotoGP is therefore by no means unprepared. He knows Ducati, the engineers’ working methods, the Pirelli tyres and already the motorbike on which he will contest his first full season in the premier class in 2027.

A return to his roots

His connection to his new team is also special. With VR46, Bulega is returning to the team with which he set out on his path towards the World Motorcycle Championship more than a decade ago. Back then, he was regarded as one of the most promising talents to come out of Valentino Rossi’s youth programme. However, he did not manage to make a direct route from Moto3 via Moto2 to MotoGP.

Instead, Bulega’s career took a detour. It was only his move to the Supersport World Championship that put him back on the road to success. Thanks to his world title in the former 600cc class – which has been open to larger-capacity bikes since 2022 – and his successes in the Superbike World Championship, he finally proved himself worthy of the premier class.

In 2027, Bulega is now returning to VR46 – albeit under completely different circumstances. The young talent who struggled in Moto2 has become a successful Ducati works rider, entering the new MotoGP era as one of the most experienced Pirelli riders.

More than five years after leaving the Grand Prix paddock, Nicolo Bulega has thus achieved the goal that had eluded him on his original career path: a permanent place in MotoGP.