One rider will pay far more attention to Nicolo Bulega replacing Marc Marquez than Francesco Bagnaia

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Ducati have confirmed that World Superbike ace Nicolo Bulega will make his MotoGP debut as their injury replacement for Marc Marquez in the final two rounds of 2025.

The Borgo Panigale crew announced this Friday that Bulega will replace Marquez in Portugal and Valencia whilst the latter continues to recover from a shoulder injury. Test rider Michele Pirro initially stood in for Marquez in Australia and Malaysia, but he failed to register a point.

Ducati will now give Bulega his MotoGP debut as their injury replacement for Marquez over the Portuguese Grand Prix on November 7-9 and Valencia Grand Prix on November 14-16 in reward for his runner-up finish in the World Superbike Championship to Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Marquez will miss the final rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season as he needed surgery on the coracoid process and ligaments in his right shoulder. The 32-year-old must also sit out the post-season Valencia test where Ducati will run their 2026 bike on a track for the first time.

Toprak Razgatlioglu will follow Nicolo Bulega’s MotoGP races closely ahead of his debut in 2026

Bulega completed a test on Ducati’s MotoGP bike at Jerez on Thursday to decide whether or not the 26-year-old was prepared to replace Marquez for the races in Portugal and Valencia. The Italian’s best lap time through the three-hour test was a 1:38.0 aboard the Ducati GP25.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Nicolo Bulega from height to career

Now, Bulega will race for Ducati at Portimao and the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, where the Borgo Panigale natives will expect two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia to enjoy a major advantage. Bagnaia has struggled on the Ducati GP25 but is a 31-time MotoGP race winner.

It would be even more embarrassing for Bagnaia if Bulega can get anywhere close to the lap times that the Turin native is able to record than him only scoring 286 points and two Grand Prix wins through 20 rounds to Marquez’s 545 points and 11 wins during 18 rounds in 2025.

But while Bagnaia might not pay too much attention to Bulega’s exploits, Razgatlioglu should observe his now-former World Superbike rival’s outings very closely. Razgatlioglu beat works Ducati WSBK rider Bulega for the title with BMW by 43 points in 2024 and 16 points in 2025.

Nicolo Bulega will show Toprak Razgatlioglu how easy it is to adapt from World Superbike to MotoGP bikes

Razgatlioglu will debut in MotoGP with Pramac Yamaha in 2026 after agreeing to a two-year factory contract with the Japanese manufacturer to leave World Superbikes. The three-time WSBK champion will partner Jack Miller at satellite Yamaha MotoGP team Pramac next year.

READ MORE: Everything to know about Toprak Razgatlioglu from net worth to nickname

The 29-year-old dominated the World Superbike Championship to win the title in 2025 with 21 wins from 36 races. He even did the treble at Portimao, Misano, Donington Park, Balaton Park and Magny-Cours. Bulega denied Razgatlioglu a sixth treble by taking one win at Estoril.

Yet, despite dominating in World Superbikes, Ducati general manager Luigi Dall’Igna believes Razgatlioglu will need to adapt his braking style in MotoGP. The Alanya native will even need to adapt to MotoGP’s Michelin tyres before Pirelli becomes the series’ sole provider in 2027.

The Michelin tyres will be Razgatlioglu’s biggest hurdle, and also now for Bulega as he steps in for Marquez at Ducati in Portugal and Valencia. So, Razgatlioglu will likely keep very close tabs on how quickly Bulega can adapt to MotoGP with less time to adjust than he will enjoy.

While Bulega got a three-hour test with Ducati’s GP25 at Jerez on Thursday, the Montecchio Emilia native will jump in at the deep end by replacing Marquez in Portugal. Razgatlioglu, on the other hand, will get private and official tests before making his MotoGP debut in March.

Yamaha are due to hold a private MotoGP test for 2026 Pramac rider Razgatlioglu at Aragon in November, plus the official post-season Valencia test. Razgatlioglu will also get the pre-season Sepang and Buriram tests before the 2026 season-opening Indonesian Grand Prix.