Bulega is improving, but not satisfied: "I'm pissed off with myself"

Positive test for Bulega in Valencia; after the race weekend he had more time to work: in 2027 he hopes to race in MotoGP.

For this year, Nicolò Bulega’s MotoGP experience has come to an end. After the Jerez test, the Portimao-Valencia doubleheader of grands prix, and the test at Ricardo Tormo, the Emilia-born rider can start his vacation. He does so with peace of mind, having had a good season in Superbike and having handled himself fairly well in the top class.

Bulega gave a positive assessment of his day of testing in Valencia, where he had more time to work and finished with the eighth fastest time, 288 thousandths behind leader Raul Fernandez: "I’m satisfied, he told Sky Sport MotoGP — but also pissed off at myself, because I messed up the last corner in the time attack. I made a small mistake and lost two tenths. Anyway, it’s fine, I’m happy. I started riding better, I felt the bike a bit more like mine, I began to push a bit more and that’s what I’m happiest about."

During grands prix there isn’t much time to work, so having a test helped the Italian rider, even if it was cut to half a day due to less-than-ideal morning conditions: "It was important to build more confidence, on race weekends time is short and stress is high, because you have to be fast in a short time. I had never ridden a MotoGP bike, so everything was complicated. In the test we worked a bit more calmly, step by step, and I managed to put in some good laps. I had much more confidence with the bike, I can feel the new tires; during the weekend I couldn’t feel them: I didn’t understand the limit, I was going the same with old and new."

In 2026 he will be a Ducati MotoGP test rider and will oversee the development of the 2027 Desmosedici, the year in which there will be new technical regulations and also a new single tire supplier (Pirelli). Bulega believes the experience gained at the end of this 2025 season will be useful for the future: "It was a good test; it also helped for what I’ll be doing next year, even if I’ll be a tester on a different bike. It was important to have a good base with the current one as well."

Racing full-time in the top class from 2007 is his goal, even though he prefers to keep a low profile today: "It’s everyone’s dream to do MotoGP, he explains, but I don’t want to race there just to say I’m a MotoGP rider. I’d like to earn it and do things properly, always improving step by step."

Toprak Razgatlioglu was also in Valencia, riding the Yamaha M1 of the Prima Pramac Racing team. Bulega also kept an eye on his rival from the last two Superbike World Championships: "It was nice to see him. You could tell he was still riding a bit stiff, but that’s totally normal. I’m sure he’ll improve a lot. We never crossed paths on track; I would have liked to do a few laps together. It makes sense that I was faster, having done two race weekends, but he’ll certainly improve: he’s very strong."

Razgatlioglu ended Tuesday’s MotoGP test with the eighteenth fastest time, about 1 second behind Nicolò. These are his first kilometers with the Yamaha M1 equipped with a V4 engine, so there couldn’t be particular expectations. In any case, the Prima Pramac team is satisfied with what he did and confident looking ahead to 2026. The Turk’s talent is unquestionable; he will need to adapt well to the novelties, and both the Iwata manufacturer and his new team will have to put him in the best possible conditions. He also has a contract for 2027, so he and Bulega could face off again.