Carlos Checa impressed by Ducati star Nicolò Bulega: “It’s unbelievable”

The Spaniard Carlos Checa, now 53 years old, has contested 194 races in the premier class, winning two during the 500cc era, as well as securing 17 podium finishes and a further seven in the modern MotoGP era with four-stroke engines. In 2008, the Catalan moved to the Superbike World Championship, where he secured a further 24 wins, 49 podium finishes and, to cap it all, the title in 2011.

Carlos is a regular guest at the World Superbike Championship; otherwise, he works as a consultant for the Barcelona circuit and serves as a TV pundit for DAZN at five Grands Prix. The Catalan remains deeply passionate about motorsport and follows both world championships closely. He is keeping a close eye on Nicolò Bulega’s upcoming move to MotoGP; the Italian will ride for Valentino Rossi’s Ducati VR46 team alongside Fermin Aledguer in 2027 and 2028.

“Ducati is making a strong impact in the Superbike World Championship; their new bike is a second faster than last year’s,” Checa explained in a one-on-one interview with SPEEDWEEK.com. “The changes make up a second – something the others can’t compensate for at short notice. Bulega is the rider with the most experience, the best team and, what’s more, he’s perfectly suited to this bike. But even with these advantages, it’s incredibly difficult to win so many races in a row (22 so far – the author). That shows he’s riding with a large safety margin.”

We are witnessing the Bulega era

Carlos Checa

“This isn’t good for the championship; we need challengers and more battles,” emphasised Checa. “At the moment, Iker Lecuona is the only one who can get close to him. But that’s how it goes sometimes: Johnny Rea dominated on the Kawasaki for years, and now we’re in the Bulega era. If he’s no longer in the World Superbike Championship next year, he’ll make way for someone else – perhaps Iker. Or perhaps future regulations will bring about a better balance.”

During MotoGP tests with the new 850cc machine, Bulega recently put in an outstanding performance at Misano, outpacing test riders from other manufacturers such as Dani Pedrosa (KTM), Augusto Fernandez (Yamaha) and Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia) by 1 to 2 seconds at a track temperature of 62 degrees Celsius.

Alongside Yamaha rider Toprak Razgatlioglu and the riders moving up from Moto2, Bulega will be one of the few in the 2027 MotoGP field to have extensive experience with the tyres of the future sole supplier, Pirelli. The technicians in Milan also always pay particularly close attention to the Superbike series winner.

By the end of the season, Bulega is expected to have completed seven days of testing on the 850cc Ducati fitted with Pirelli tyres. When next year’s factory riders, Marc Márquez and Pedro Acosta, take to the Circuito Ricardo Tormo on the 850cc bike on Tuesday, 1 December, following the Valencia finale, Bulega will have more experience with this machine than anyone else, making him particularly valuable to Ducati. The prestigious brand will be able to draw on mountains of data from its rider, whilst current MotoGP regulars are not permitted to ride the race bike outside of official IRTA tests.

“Ducati has the best plan for next year,” Checa emphasised. “Bulega is fast and has matured a great deal mentally. He can handle his current position and provide the engineers with the best possible feedback so that they can head in the right direction. At the Superbike race in Aragon, he was just 1 second slower than Marc Márquez in qualifying – on a long circuit, on a bike carrying an extra 11 kg and fitted with steel brakes. He is certainly at the level required for MotoGP. If Ducati didn’t have the fuel limit, he’d be even faster on the Superbike.”