Who is Nicolo Bulega? Everything to know about Marc Marquez’s Portugal Grand Prix replacement

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Nicolo Bulega will replace Marc Marquez at the Portuguese Grand Prix after taking part in his maiden MotoGP test in Jerez this week.

With the 2025 champion out for the remaining two races of the season, Ducati have announced that Bulega will get the opportunity to replace Marquez, and compete alongside Francesco Bagnaia.

The team had previously run their reserve rider, Michele Pirro, on the bike in Australia and Malaysia races, but had finished outside the points at both events.

Bulega will now finish the season with the team, after Ducati had previously secured all three 2025 titles.

Putting Bulega into the seat will be good practice for the rider, after it was announced he would be joining Pirro as the team’s test rider line-up in 2026.

There are also rumours that Bulega could be in line for a MotoGP seat in 2027, alongside the regulation changes, with his performance in these races being used to analyse his potential.

Read More: How Nicolo Bulega’s lap times in Ducati MotoGP test at Jerez compare to Francesco Bagnaia

Who is motorcycle racer Nicolo Bulega?

Nicolo Bulega currently competes in the Superbike World Championship, where he races for Aruba.it Racing – Ducati. He came runner-up in the 2025 championship for the second year, finishing 13 points behind Toprak Razgatlioglu.

The pair dominated this year’s WSBK championship, finishing over 270 points ahead of third-place Alvaro Bautista. Both Razgatlioglu and Bulega claimed all but one victory of the 2025 season, with the former set to join Prima Pramac in MotoGP next year.

Bulega will continue in the Superbike World Championship next year, with his contract expiring with Aruba.it Racing at the end of 2026.

Alongside his normal racing, Bulega has signed with the Ducati MotoGP team to become a test rider for the Italian outfit next year.

He will play an important role in the development of Ducati’s 2027 project, with the potential for him to make the move to the premier class alongside the regulation changes.

Bulega began competing in motorcycle racing at the age of 8 when he competed in the Italian Minimoto Championship. He won both the Italian and European MiniGP 50 championships in 2011, before taking the Italian 125 PreGP the following year and the Italian Pre GP 250 in 2013.

His latest title came at the 2023 Supersport World Championship, where he won 16 out of 24 races for Ducati.

How old is Nicolo Bulega? Where was he born and what is his nationality?

Nicolo Bulega was born on the 16th October 1999, making him 26 years old. He was born in Montecchio Emilia, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, about 43 miles (70 km) northwest of Bologna.

The Italian is also the son of former 250cc rider Davide Bulega.

How tall is Nicolo Bulega and how much does he weigh?

Nicolo Bulega is 181cm (5ft 9in) tall, which would make him one of the taller riders if he were to join the MotoGP grid. Both Joan Mir and Fermin Aldeguer are also the same height, with only Luca Marini being taller at 184cm (6ft) tall.

Bulega would be the heaviest rider on the grid, weighing in at 70kg (11st), which is slightly heavier than Marini, Mir, Aldeguer and Fabio Quartararo.

Nicolo Bulega’s MotoGP career stats

Nicolo Bulega joined the 2015 Moto3 grid, debuting with Sky Racing Team VR46 at the season finale in Valencia.

He joined the grid with the team full-time the following year, taking two podium finishes, and finishing seventh in the championship.

Bulega had a difficult three seasons in Moto3, mainly due to his height and weight, but was promoted up to the Sky Racing Team VR46’s Moto2 seat in 2019.

The young Italian struggled again through three years in Moto2, with a highest championship finish of 17th in 2019.

In 2021, it was announced that he would join Aruba.it Racing for the Supersport World Championship for their maiden season in the sport. It proved a clever move for Bulega, who took the 2023 title, 95 points ahead of second-place Stefano Manzi.