Message from Valentino Rossi to Nicolo Bulega: Think about the tasks ahead

Although there are still three rounds of the Superbike World Championship to be contested at Jerez, champion Nicolo Bulega has already set a number of key records. He has won 29 races in a single season, breaking Alvaro Bautista’s previous record of 27 set in 2023. Bulega has triumphed in nine of the eleven events so far across all three races and has also set a new record with 664 points. No rider has ever achieved 44 consecutive podium finishes across multiple seasons; in terms of podium finishes in a single season (33), only Jonthan Rea is ahead of him – the Northern Irishman managed an astonishing 34 in 2019.

Bulega has signed a MotoGP contract with Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Ducati team for 2027 and 2028 and will share the garage with the talented Fermin Aldeguer. This marks the start of a new chapter in his career.

“When you come back to the pits after a race and second place is the worst you’ve finished, you enter a mental state that isn’t real,” Bulega explained during a meeting with SPEEDWEEK.com. “Especially not when it comes to MotoGP. Next year, I certainly won’t be seeing my name in first place all the time. I’ll be going into the season with a different mindset. It’ll be my first year in MotoGP; there’s a lot I need to understand first, and the standard is incredibly high. That’s why I’m not setting any expectations. It was the same in my first year in the Superbike World Championship. I’ll work hard, give it my all, stay focused, work hard on the details and try to get closer to the front with every ride.”

Superbike-Seriensieger Nicolo Bulega

Foto: aruba.it ducati

Bulega: “That would be great for the Superbike paddock too”

Only a few former Superbike riders have gone on to excel in MotoGP; Cal Crutchlow was the most recent to do so. “What Ben Spies showed wasn’t too bad either,” said Bulega. “But then he was unlucky with a few injuries. If a rider is strong, he has to try and adapt his riding style to a new bike. Motorcycle racing is a tough sport: you need the right bike and team, you have to be at 100 per cent yourself at all times, and a MotoGP season is very long. Let’s see if I can achieve good results. That would be great for me, but also for the Superbike paddock.”

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After clinching the title early in Cremona on the last weekend in September, Bulega received countless congratulations, including via WhatsApp and Instagram: “I really appreciate that even my rivals congratulated me, including some MotoGP riders. The weeks that followed were lovely; I read lots of nice messages.”

Among those who messaged him was his future team boss, Valentino Rossi. “He congratulated me on the work I’d done,” said Bulega. And he added with a smile: “Now I should be thinking about the challenges ahead.”