Nicolo Bulega is one of those who, in 2022, relaunched their career after leaving the world of Grands Prix. The Italian began his activities in this paddock by tackling the new version of the WSS Supersport category. To stick to the reality of a market that this competition is supposed to represent, it has abandoned the monoculture of the Japanese 600 engine to open up to other displacements of European brands. Thus, 1cc twins rubbed shoulders with three-cylinder 000s, 750s, with four-cylinder in-line 800s. All this under the aegis of a regulation balancing the forces. What many supposedly enlightened observers have nevertheless forgotten. But Bulega takes it upon himself to remind them of the rules of the game...
On a channel broadcasting Supersport, I happened to hear, when a Ducati 955 V2 doubled in a straight line Yamaha R6, and from a person who a priori knows his subject perfectly, since participating in the championship with this Japanese woman, “ yes but it's a 1 »… Like an admission of helplessness even exuding a feeling of injustice. Yet, Dominique Aegerter crushed the championship with this R6, like last year, while Supersport is the only category where the brand Ducati participant won nothing. Among the newcomers, only the Triumph can rejoice in success.
This remark, Nicholas Bulega heard it too. And he would like to answer it. What he did on GP One : " Those who don't understand anything about motorcycling have often said to me 'how can you not win with a 1000?'. And that pisses me off, because I would like to give them my bike, put them on the track with the others and see if, in the straight line they actually end up with a 1 versus a 000 » comments the pilot of 23 years.
Nicolo Bulega: “c’est plus agréable pour les fans car ils sont plus proches des motos qu’en MotoGP"
He adds : " Let's just say it was the worst part of the whole year, but ultimately we did our own thing and we didn't turn out badly. At the beginning of the year, I lamented the fact that my motorcycle had not much acceleration, but I never complained about the engine. In my opinion, there are less good aspects, like the gearbox, or the fact that our wheels weigh 2,5 kg more than others' ».
That being said, he also mentions the satisfaction of having discovered another world: “ I was pleasantly surprised because when I left the MotoGP paddock I expected everything to be less beautiful » he admits. “ But there are a lot of interesting things in the Superbike paddock. Like the two races or free access to the paddock. It's more pleasant for the fans because they are closer to the bikes than in MotoGP. I didn't expect it to be so family friendly, I felt very comfortable ».
To the extent that… " I feel good here. I prefer to reach a good level in this paddock. Of course, I don't want to stay in the World Supersport Championship forever. My goal is to finish in the Superbike World Championship. If I'm fine, why not ". But coming back to Grand Prix, no.
