Nicolo Bulega "a little nervous" before his debut

Nicolo Bulega will make his debut in MotoGP at the Portuguese Grand Prix. After 50 Moto3 races, and 49 in Moto2, the Italian will race his first event in the premier category, replacing Marc Márquez, who has been injured with a broken collarbone since the Indonesian Grand Prix.

This is an important outing for number 11, who became a Ducati test rider during the summer to assist Michele Pirro in the development of the Desmosedici GP. In this role, he will be expected to participate in Grands Prix as a wildcard next year. Nevertheless, ahead of the Portuguese Grand Prix, Nicolo Bulega is feeling the pressure of a first-time experience.

“I am happy and at the same time a little nervous about making my debut,” confides the person concerned. I want to enjoy the moment, but also do a good job with the whole team. I have no expectations in terms of results. I want to start gaining confidence with the Desmosedici GP.

Nicolo Bulega has already participated in a race weekend in Portugal this year, in the Superbike World Championship last August. Aware of the track's specific characteristics, he is not underestimating the scale of the challenge: Let's not forget that we'll be racing on a very unique and demanding circuit like Portimao.

On the other side of the Ducati garage, Pecco Bagnaia is renewing his ambitions for victories, after an encouraging Malaysian Grand Prix that ended prematurely due to an unfortunate puncture.

“I came back from Malaysia with a bitter taste in my mouth, but also some positive feelings. Sunday’s race certainly didn’t end in the best way, even though we were competitive throughout the weekend. That’s something we’ve lacked in recent Grands Prix, and we need to continue in that direction. Portimao is definitely a unique circuit with its own particular characteristics. We’re working to regain the same confidence in our riding that we had at Sepang.”concluded the two-time world champion.

As a reminder, Ducati has won the last two editions of the Portuguese Grand Prix. In 2023 with Pecco Bagnaia, and in 2024 with Jorge Martín. These are Borgo Panigale's only two victories at Portimao, while 2021 and 2022 saw... fabio quartararo triumph, and that the first edition crowned its local hero, Miguel Oliveira.

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