Under the eyes of the Ducati bosses: No trembling and dithering for Nico Bulega

Nicolo Bulega is not only dominating the 2026 Superbike World Championship and has not been beaten in 22 races across the season, he has also become much better known. The Italian has twice finished runner-up behind Toprak Razgatlioglu, and after potentially winning the title this year, he will move up to MotoGP and ride alongside Fermin Aldeguer in Valentino Rossi's VR46 Ducati team in 2027.

Just how much Bulega's stock has risen is also reflected in the fan interest in Misano: No other pits are constantly packed with people as big as the Aruba-Ducati works team, for whom Bulega and Iker Lecuona ride. The two of them easily coped with the enormous pressure on Friday, and after the two free practice sessions they can be found in positions 1 and 2 on the combined timesheet.

All Ducati bosses are on site

Ducati's entire management team will be on site in Misano, from Race Director Gigi Dall'Igna to Sporting Director Mauro Grassilli, MotoGP Team Manager Davide Tardozzi and Paolo Ciabatti, who is responsible for off-road racing. "CEO Claudio Domenicali will also be here from Saturday," reported Bulega. "The only difference to usual is that they are all here - normally they follow me from home. When I'm on the bike, nothing changes for me, I'm always alone. It's good to see them all. And when I have Gigi in the corner of my garage, it makes me happy - with him we have additional expertise in the garage. That's why I don't see it as pressure, but as happiness."

The 38-time race winner is now increasingly showing his fine sense of humour and explained why there are not only more spectators in Misano than at most other races, but also why the media centre is fuller than anywhere else. "We have the sea, the beaches and good food here," grinned Nicolo in conversation with SPEEDWEEK.com. "That's why this is one of everyone's favourite places."

Nicolo Bulega

Foto: gold & goose

Team-mate Lecuona took 0.166 seconds off Bulega, with third-placed Yari Montella (Barni Spark Ducati) already losing over half a second. "We know that our package is excellent and we just have to put everything together," said the 26-year-old. "My feeling in FP1 was bad. We tried something with the set-up that I didn't like. For FP2 we went back to my standard setting."