Nicolo Bulega: “Marc Marquez didn’t win without a great bike either”

There are two things the experts in the SBK paddock agree on: with the current Panigale V4R, Ducati has produced a marvel of engineering that is one second per lap faster than its predecessor. And BMW’s recent performances at Donington Park – with Miguel Oliveira’s 11th place in the first race marking their best result – do not tell the whole story. After all, the Portuguese rider has already raced onto the podium four times this season and is generally faster, both in qualifying and over the race distance, than his predecessor Toprak Razgatlioglu was in 2025, when he won his third title.

With Toprak, they have shown what is possible.

Nicolo Bulega on BMW

“BMW has an amazing team and they really believe in their Superbike project,” emphasised World Championship leader Nicolo Bulega of the Aruba Ducati factory team, who has won 23 of the 24 races so far this season and could already be crowned World Champion at the event after next, in Cremona near Milan, at the end of September. “Over the past two years, they’ve shown what’s possible with Toprak.”

Toprak had the perfect style for the BMW

The 26-year-old Italian continued: “Okay, Toprak was an outstanding rider on the BMW and we can see that Oliveira and Petrucci are finding it harder than Toprak did. But that’s also because Toprak’s riding style suits this bike better. Their bike is very good under braking – and Toprak is incredible under braking. He was able to exploit 100 per cent of this bike’s potential. Perhaps Miguel and Danilo ride a bit more gently compared to Toprak, but the BMW is still a magnificent bike; after all, they’ve won the last two titles. Toprak was fantastic. But even Marc Márquez didn’t win without a superb machine. To win, you need an outstanding rider, but also a very strong motorbike – you have to get a lot of things right.”

Willkommen in Donington Park

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Paddock

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Xavi Vierge

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Yari Montella

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Fans

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Nicolò Bulega

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Sam und Alex Lowes

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Pirelli

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Pirelli

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Andrea Locatelli

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Iker Lecuona

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Start des Rennens

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Lorenzo Baldassarri

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Danilo Petrucci

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Sam Lowes

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Iker Lecuona

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Bulega und Montella

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Alex Lowes

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Iker Lecuona

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Yari Montella

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Nicolò Bulega

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Axel Bassani

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Yari Montella

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Iker Lecuona

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Willkommen in Donington Park

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