Serious crash on the Ducati 850cc: Bulega taken to hospital

Bad news in the Ducati camp. Nicolò Bulega was involved in an accident with the 850cc MotoGP prototype during a private test. The Superbike champion was taken to the hospital for checks, but it shouldn’t be anything serious. It’s a small setback for the development of the new Desmosedici GP27.

The incident occurred on the second and final day of testing, around 12:00 p.m. According to early reports, Bulega suffered a heavy highside that threw him off the bike at Arrabbiata 2. Given the speed in that section of the track, the crash initially caused great concern. However, hospital tests came back negative and Nicolò did not suffer fractures or serious injuries. The 26-year-old from Emilia left the hospital shortly afterward and returned home.

MotoGP testing was cut short for the Borgo Panigale factory, which is working on two fronts for 2026–2027. On one hand there’s a world title to clinch, on the other a completely new prototype to develop for next season. Bulega will make his premier-class debut with Valentino Rossi’s VR46 satellite team, but he has already been leading development of the GP27 for some time. This is also thanks to his knowledge of Pirelli tires, used in WorldSBK for many years.

According to rumors, Nicolò set his best lap time at 1'46"5 during the Mugello test. This won’t be a true debut for him in the MotoGP World Championship. In addition to his test rider experience with the new Ducati, at the end of 2025 he replaced the injured Marc Marquez in the final two races of the season.

Bulega’s career is truly versatile. After difficult years in Moto3 and Moto2, he moved to the World Supersport Championship in 2022. That’s where he turned things around with Ducati. He became world champion in 2023, then moved to the factory Superbike team and finished runner-up in both 2024 and 2025. Bulega is dominating the current championship and is on the verge of the world title. At the same time, he is increasingly involved in Ducati’s MotoGP development program.

The crash at Mugello could affect the MotoGP testing schedule, at least in the short term. The next outing with the Desmosedici GP27 is scheduled at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, on the Monday after the Grand Prix. His participation remains in doubt. Ducati can field Marc Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer, among others. Bulega’s priority is to bring home the SBK title. From September 25 to 27, the penultimate race weekend of 2026 will be held in Cremona. Here the Aruba.it Racing team rider could mathematically secure the world championship. After that, he will be able to focus heart and soul on the new MotoGP chapter.

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