PIRRO REJECTS CLAIMS BULEGA HAS AN UNFAIR 850CC ADVANTAGE

Michele Pirro has rejected suggestions that Ducati is tailoring its 2027 MotoGP bike around Nicolo Bulega, arguing that the young Italian’s frequent testing is being misrepresented and may be used to put pressure on him before his premier-class debut.

MotoGP will introduce 850cc machinery and a new tyre supplier in 2027. Bulega, who is preparing to join VR46 on a one-year works contract, has spent 2026 as Ducati’s official test rider alongside his World Superbike commitments. Pirro’s shoulder injury has meant Ducati has relied on Bulega more often to evaluate the new bike. That has prompted claims from some paddock figures, including Neil Hodgson and KTM test rider Pol Espargaro, that Bulega could have an unfair advantage. Espargaro has even predicted he could “end up beating everyone.”

Pirro says the speculation is premature. “I think all of this is just pre-season manoeuvring by someone who wants to divert attention or put pressure on a young rider who needs to follow his own path and begin his MotoGP journey,” he said, in comments reported by GPOne.

He stressed that the bike and its tyres are still changing, with the season not due to begin until March. “It’s still early, because neither the final tyres nor the final bikes are ready yet,” Pirro said. “A lot can change in seven months.” He added that Bulega should be judged around the middle of next season, once he has begun racing in MotoGP.

Pirro also drew a distinction between testing and competing. A race rider can rely on a familiar process and a proven setup, he explained, whereas a test rider must try a succession of different ideas. That can undermine confidence rather than build it. “Being a test rider is different than being a race rider,” he said, noting that the tyres are still evolving and the bikes are being adapted to them.

Bulega has likewise denied that Ducati’s 850cc machine is “made for me.” He said his job is to assess what the team asks him to try, not to choose the parts or developments that suit him personally. “They’ve given me a thousand things to try, but I can’t say what I want,” he said, according to Sky Sports Italy. “I’m not sure the bike is made for me – it’s made for the factory team riders, and I simply try what they ask me to try.”

Ducati’s new bike is intended for a wider group of riders, including Marc Marquez, Pedro Acosta, Fermin Aldeguer, Joan Mir and Daniel Holgado. Bulega’s testing experience may still help him when he joins the grid, but the package is unfinished and the final Pirelli tyres are not yet available. Riders have had only two official opportunities to sample their manufacturers’ 850cc bikes on Pirelli rubber, at Brno and the Red Bull Ring. Francesco Bagnaia has also argued that any early familiarity advantage should fade by the first race, when Bulega’s larger challenge will be adapting to MotoGP’s schedule of 22 Grands Prix and 22 Sprint races, rather than WorldSBK’s 12 rounds.