BULEGA RECALLS MARQUEZ’S HELMET GIFT AND NAMES THE TRAITS HE’D BORROW

Nicolo Bulega will step up to MotoGP full-time with VR46 in 2027 after a dominant World Superbike campaign, in which he won all but four races. He has also been testing Ducati’s 850cc machine ahead of the next regulation changes. The move will put him on the grid alongside Marc Marquez, whom Bulega has so far encountered only at Ducati’s World Ducati Week events.

Their most notable meeting came in the 2024 Race of Champions, when the pair made contact and Bulega crashed. Marquez continued to finish third, behind Andrea Iannone and Pecco Bagnaia. Bulega has revealed that Marquez called him that evening to apologise and later gave him his helmet.

“Yes, he called me the evening after the race and apologised. It’s all over now; after all, screwing up is OK,” Bulega told Moto.It. He said Marquez wrote on the visor that he was “a very fast rider, with a very good style.” The gift was intended as an apology, Bulega explained. “I’ve always liked to keep this thing a bit private, so as not to create further controversy, but three years have passed now and so I can also say it.”

Bulega’s 2027 arrival will reunite him with former WorldSBK rival Toprak Razgatlioglu and with Valentino Rossi, whose VR46 academy he came through. He will join Fermin Aldeguer at the team after choosing to remain with Ducati despite receiving offers from other manufacturers. Although Bulega progressed through the academy, he never reached MotoGP via the lower categories.

He is expected to have the opportunity to study Marquez’s data as he adapts to the premier class. Marquez has called Bulega the most interesting rookie to watch, praise the Italian said gave him a boost. Asked what he would borrow from Marquez, Bulega initially laughed: “Everything!” Pressed to name one quality, he chose “his ability to adapt to any condition.”

Bulega also identified traits he would take from other champions. From Rossi, he would want “the speed with which he adapts, his ability to go fast right away,” adding that Rossi could be quick “from the very first moment.” From Jorge Lorenzo, he would choose corner speed and riding style, which he said he had always liked. Casey Stoner, meanwhile, could “go fast even on this little table here,” Bulega joked, saying all it would need was an engine and two wheels.

“I took it well, because he’s a great champion and hearing someone like him tell me that I’ll be the surprise of next year made me very happy and, as I said, it gave me a great boost,” Bulega said of Marquez’s praise.

The Italian has already filled in for Marquez at the end of 2025, riding the final two races while the Spaniard recovered from a shoulder injury sustained in Indonesia. Their brief history on track now gives way to a full season as rivals in MotoGP.