Marco Bezzecchi
Andrea Dovizioso sees a “perfect” reason why Nicolo Bulega would take a huge risk by replacing Marc Marquez at Ducati for the final two rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season.
The Borgo Panigale brand have welcomed World Superbike Championship runner-up Bulega to the MotoGP paddock this weekend at the Portuguese Grand Prix. He will also stand in for the season-finale Valencia Grand Prix next weekend, with Marquez sidelined through injury.
Marquez will miss the end of the 2025 MotoGP season, as well as the post-season Valencia test, having needed surgery to address the shoulder injury he suffered in Indonesia. The 32-year-old was taken out by Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi on the first lap at Mandalika last month.
Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali has stated that Marquez faces “no lasting effects” from his shoulder injury. Test rider Michele Pirro initially replaced Marquez in Australia and Malaysia, but Ducati have now afforded Bulega a chance to ride the Desmosedici GP25 in his place.
Nicolo Bulega replacing Marc Marquez is the ‘worst thing’ he could do ‘in terms of performance’
Ex-Ducati ace Andrea Dovizioso feels Bulega replacing Marquez in Portugal and Malaysia for the final rounds of the 2025 MotoGP season is the “worst thing” that his fellow Italian could do. The 26-year-old only got a brief test on the GP25 prior to his MotoGP debut at Portimao.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Nicolo Bulega from height to career
Yet given Bulega is targeting a permanent MotoGP race seat in 2027, when the series moves from Michelin to Pirelli tyres and will overhaul the regulations, Dovizioso also believes this is the “perfect” moment for the WSBK sensation to learn what goes into a MotoGP race week.
Dovizioso told Motosprint: “Taking over in a championship at the end of the season is the worst thing you can do in terms of performance.
“But, in reality, he has a bit of a strange situation ahead of him where he will have the chance to do tests [with Ducati’s 2027 bike] next year, which could open a door for the future.
“So, doing these two races here is perfect, in the sense that they should not be rushed, in my opinion, in order to truly evaluate performance and gain experience ahead of next year’s tests, even if they will be with different tyres and different conditions.
“Now, joining a championship, in a category at the right moment, is difficult in terms of performance. But it’s the right moment to get an idea of what it’s like to work two weekends with the team, to give Ducati an understanding of something, and then to work throughout the year. So, he’ll have time to understand each other.”
Andrea Dovizioso thinks a top-eight result on debut would be ‘OK’ for Nicolo Bulega
Ducati wanted to give Bulega his MotoGP debut on Marquez’s bike in the Portuguese Grand Prix and the Valencia Grand Prix as a reward for his World Superbike Championship efforts in 2025. BMW’s Toprak Razgatlioglu beat Ducati’s Bulega to the 2025 WSBK title by 13 points.
READ MORE: Everything to know about Toprak Razgatlioglu from net worth to nickname
Bulega took the WSBK title fight down to the final race at Jerez, where he also did the treble for the third time this term. He also did the treble at Phillip Island in Australia and Cremona in Italy amid the Montecchio Emilia native’s 14 wins and 32 podiums from 36 races in 2025.
Now, Bulega is riding a very different prototype bike in MotoGP with Ducati by moving from the production World Superbike Championship. Yet Dovizioso would not be surprised to see Bulega achieve a top-eight result on his MotoGP debut in the Portuguese GP this weekend.
Dovizioso added: “If I had to say what result he will achieve, honestly, it’s not difficult. And sincerely, if he is in the top eight, that’s OK.”
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