motorcycle, Nicholas Bulega on Marc Marquez's Ducati in Portimao, Portugal: possible on one condition
By Matteo Bellan / Corsedimoto.com
Mauro Grassilli responds to rumors that Bulega is Marquez's possible replacement at the Portimao GP.
Ducati found itself without Marc Marquez because of the accident caused by Marco Bezzecchi in Indonesia and replaces him at Phillip Island with the test pilot Michele PirroThe 2025 MotoGP champion will certainly be absent in Sepang and Portimao, so the Borgo Panigale house will have to decide again who will be his replacement. The name of Nicholas Bulega, a Superbike rider who will also be a MotoGP test rider in 2026, was also mentioned.
MotoGP, Bulega at Portimao: Grassilli, from Ducati, speaks
Mauro Grassilli, Ducati's sporting director, addressed the Bulega issue in an interview with Sky Sport MotoGP : “The goal was to allow Nicolò to focus on the Superbike World Championship. We are considering bringing him with us to Portimao, but some aspects need to be analyzed carefully. For example, he doesn't know the bike and the tires: we should allow him to try them out before competing with us. We are evaluating this possibility with Nicolò, Dall'Igna, and Domenicali. A test would be necessary, because Superbike is not MotoGP. Marquez in Valencia? It's not impossible.”
If Ducati manages to organize a test to allow the Emilian rider to try the Desmosedici GP25, then his presence in Portimao on the weekend of November 7-9 is not excluded.
Superbike, Nicolò's opinion
Bulega, during a press conference in Jerez, clarified his position on the matter: “Everyone would love to ride this bike because it’s Marquez’s. Me too, but you have to make the right choices. When I was in Supersport, Ducati allowed me to ride the Superbike and when I arrived here, I was ready to race. For me, it’s not important to go to MotoGP just to be able to say I rode one of these bikes. To go there, you have to do things right. And not be slow, because then everyone says Superbike riders are slow. I don’t want that.”
The Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider's reasoning is understandable. Without having tested the Desmosedici GP25, he has no intention of replacing Marquez. We'll see if Nicolò manages to ride the prototype in Bologna before Portimao, in order to begin familiarizing himself with the bike and better assess the situation.
Read the original article on Corsedimoto.com
Matteo Bellan
Nicolo Bulega Ducati Superbike MotoGP
