BULEGA SAYS DUCATI SAVED HIS RACING CAREER AFTER MOTO2 STRUGGLES

Nicolo Bulega says he came close to leaving motorcycle racing after two difficult seasons in Moto2, before a move to Ducati’s production-bike programme helped him rediscover his motivation and build a path to MotoGP.

The Italian, who will make his premier-class debut with VR46 Racing next year, spoke to Corriere della Sera after securing the 2026 World Superbike title at Cremona. As he approached the championship on the final lap, he found himself thinking not only of the successes that brought him there, but also of the setbacks. “I always find it very hard to show my emotions; I tend to hide them,” he said. “But on the final lap, so many moments flashed before my eyes. Especially the bad ones.”

The hardest period, he explained, came in Moto2. Bulega finished 20th in 2020 and 26th in 2021, and said he had stopped enjoying the sport. “It was even a chore to pack my bag to go to the races,” he recalled. He would look for reasons to avoid travelling and arrived expecting to perform poorly. “With that mindset, you’re already half a second down before the start.”

Bulega said he was “almost forced to” quit. Without results, he noted, a rider leaving motorsport has to find other work to make ends meet. His manager, Alberto Martinelli, saw a way forward that Bulega initially struggled to accept: a move out of the Grand Prix paddock and into Supersport. At first, the change felt like “too big a step backwards.”

Ducati’s offer helped persuade him. The company presented the move as a place in a factory-backed project, with Bulega racing in red and the prospect of progressing to WorldSBK if he performed well. “By making me feel part of a project,” he said, Ducati gave him a reason to take the opportunity.

The switch proved decisive. Bulega went on to win the World Supersport Championship before establishing himself in WorldSBK and claiming its 2026 crown. He credited Martinelli for recognising the bigger picture and Ducati for helping him recover qualities he felt he had lost. “I’d hit rock bottom, and they were offering me a helping hand to get out of the tunnel,” he said. “They managed to bring out something I’d lost the ability to express.”

Bulega’s route to MotoGP is therefore markedly different from that of many rookies: he will arrive as the reigning World Superbike champion, after a career turnaround that began when he stepped away from Moto2.