Superbike: Nicolò Bulega's story is a great example for young riders

At Misano, a Friday as the leader for the Ducati rider, first in both practice sessions: speaking about his future, he highlighted an important aspect.

It’s no longer a surprise to see Nicolò Bulega in P1 in this 2026 Superbike season. Not only has he taken every pole position and won every race so far, but even in free practice it’s rare not to see him ahead of everyone. Today at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli he set the fastest time in both FP1 and FP2. With his 1'32"235 he edged teammate Iker Lecuona by 166 thousandths and third-placed Yari Montella by 576.

At his home round, the Aruba Ducati rider is eager to do well, even though he himself admitted he doesn’t want to put pressure on himself and is trying to approach this weekend like the previous ones, without getting carried away by emotions. The start is certainly positive, and the foundations to take his first Misano win as an SBK rider seem to be there.

Bulega wasn’t very happy after the first free practice session, but then the Aruba Ducati team made the right move and there shouldn’t be any issues for the weekend: "In the morning I was fast, but the feeling with the bike wasn’t what I wanted. We improved a lot in the afternoon by going back to our standard bike, the feeling returned and I managed to have a good pace. In FP1 we tried a setup change, but it didn’t work well and we went back. Winning at home would be fantastic."

The situation is under control and he’s undoubtedly the favorite for the Superbike round at Misano, where his friend Pecco Bagnaia is also watching. They exchanged a few thoughts—no advice from the Ducati MotoGP rider: "I just told him about the difficulties I had in the morning," explains Bulega, "and he told me what they do in MotoGP when they feel the same things. But it was more of an exchange of opinions."

Nicolò was a young hope who lost his way during his Grand Prix days, but by switching paddocks he rebuilt his career. The move to Supersport was crucial, with one year of learning and a second in which he was crowned world champion. Then came the well-deserved promotion to Superbike, with two seasons as runner-up and a third that is crowning him number 1, before making the big leap to MotoGP in 2027.

The rider from Emilia recounted what it feels like to have gone through this journey, in which he experienced a fall and then a rebirth: "Beyond MotoGP, it’s something that makes me very happy. There are many guys who sometimes struggle; I understand them, because it happened to me too. I’d like to be an example—someone who managed to rebuild himself and can give hope and confidence even to those who stop believing, as I had done. For the younger kids, it’s important." A fine message from Bulega—his story is a good example for those who find themselves in trouble and think about giving up.