Bulega returns to Valencia with Ducati: low expectations, but hungry for growth

After his baptism at Portimão, Valencia brings Bulega’s second MotoGP race weekend: how will he fare this time?

In the final MotoGP Grand Prix of 2025, Nicolò Bulega will also be on the grid, once again replacing Marc Marquez in the factory Ducati team at Valencia. He made his official debut at Portimão and it didn’t go badly; he faced the perfectly normal difficulties of a rider who had never raced in the top class before. He arrived in Portugal with about thirty laps under his belt from a test in less-than-ideal conditions at Jerez; in Spain he comes with more kilometers on the Desmosedici GP25, but the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve was already a World Superbike stop. He hasn’t raced at Ricardo Tormo since 2021, his last year in Moto2 and in the World Championship.

Interviewed by Sky Sport MotoGP, Bulega spoke this way about his debut at Portimão: "These past few days I’ve thought about it a bit. I have to say there were several positives, but also negatives, which is normal when you get on such a complex new bike. Looking at the positives and analyzing the whole weekend, I think I did quite well. Especially towards the end of the long race, the last laps were interesting, even looking at the data. The negatives are errors linked to automatisms, things that should only be resolved by staying on the bike and putting in miles. I’m fairly happy. Clearly, my debut wasn’t a normal debut like everyone else’s, where they do the winter tests first and arrive more prepared. For me, in a week it was decided to come to MotoGP; it was more complicated."

Looking ahead to the weekend in Valencia, the Ducati rider has no particular expectations; it doesn’t make sense to have them with so little experience on the Desmosedici GP25: "It’s been four years since I’ve been to Valencia; I’ll have to readjust to this track with a MotoGP bike, so it won’t be easy. My expectations don’t change; they remain very low. I have three days of experience on the MotoGP bike; I’m still inexperienced and I have a lot to understand. If I can restart from the end of the Portimão race, from those sensations, and from there make a step."

Bulega was asked whether, after trying MotoGP, returning to Superbike might be less fun. In his view, no: "MotoGP is certainly the top a rider aspires to - he replied - but Superbike is also a lot of fun. I have a great feeling with the Ducati Panigale V4 R and I can more or less do what I want. I feel I ride that one better, for the moment. I don’t think I’ll have less fun going back there. Of course MotoGP gives you that extra thrill, but until you can exploit it 100%, it’s hard to enjoy yourself."

Quite rightly, the Emilian rider points out that on one side he has a bike he knows better and with which he can show his full value, while on the other he has one he’s only just begun to get to know and with which he can’t yet express his full potential. In 2026, Bulega will race in the WorldSBK Championship and will also be a Ducati MotoGP test rider, so he’ll have the chance to become more familiar with a prototype.