Assen Practice 2: Nicolò Bulega charging toward MotoGP—untouchable in Superbike

He looks like he’s playing a different sport: even on the flatlands of Assen, Nicolò Bulega is riding at a level unreachable for his Superbike rivals. With Ducati he’s become a stellar pairing: the second free practice session was a carbon copy of the morning one, aside from the gray, slightly threatening sky. Another hat-trick served?

The news of the day is the lightning lap by Lorenzo Baldassarri, the hard-charging rookie of this opening stretch of the Championship. He’s already had a taste of the podium at Phillip Island, and Assen is another favorable track for the former Moto2 rider. Bulega is on another planet, but against all the others he can have a go, including factory rider Iker Lecuona, who slipped to third. After his morning tip-off, a spark from Danilo Petrucci, who seems to be finding a thread through BMW’s complicated tangle: fourth fastest. Yamaha can breathe too with Xavi Vierge in fifth, very effective over a single lap.

Ai Ogura’s move to Yamaha ’27 has opened a fabulous opportunity for Nicolò Bulega, a candidate for the vacant seat at Trackhouse Aprilia. Manager Alberto Martinelli is in the Netherlands, seeking counteroffers on the Superbike side. It seems a replay of last year’s strategy, when by offering himself to BMW—then looking for an alternative to Toprak Razgatlioglu—the Ducati rider secured a renewal worth €700,000, roughly double the usual market rate for Ducati riders in Superbike. The MotoGP siren song is even louder this time: beyond the salary, there’s also the chance to ride the Aprilia RS-GP and return to the World Championship through the front door. The 850 cc regulatory shift could change the game, but for now Bulega is wanted by the brand that’s winning today.

Jonathan Rea is once again standing in for the regular Jake Dixon. He’s won here no fewer than seventeen times, including with Honda at the start of his Superbike adventure. But this CBR-RR is driving even the most successful rider in history crazy. His telling hand gesture in the pit lane, after a violent loss of grip in the fastest section, said it all: going down there could have had serious consequences. Now Rea is a tester; he no longer has the pressure to deliver results at all costs. But finding himself at the bottom of the timesheets, especially here at Assen, certainly doesn’t make him happy. Somkiat Chantra, the former MotoGP rider, is faring even worse. Dixon fractured himself in testing. The HRC technical challenge in Superbike, despite investments and generous regulatory concessions, seems to be spiraling further downward.