Nicolo Bulega’s MotoGP debut was even better than it looked as surprising Ducati data emerges

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Nicolo Bulega scored a point on his MotoGP debut with Ducati as he finished 15th at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

The Borgo Panigale outfit has drafted in the World Superbike rider to replace Marc Marquez for the final two races of 2025. Bulega tested the GP25 at Jerez prior to his first race in MotoGP at Portimao.

Bulega was significantly slower than teammate Francesco Bagnaia with his lap times, but that was expected, given differing track conditions and his inexperience on the bike. Nevertheless, Bulega expected a ‘difficult’ weekend at Portimao, but it went better than anticipated.

Almost immediately, the Italian was on the pace as Bulega beat Bagnaia in FP1. The two-time champion would eventually get into his stride and pull clear of his teammate, who managed 18th in qualifying before crashing out in the Sprint.

Nicolo Bulega’s Ducati debut was better than expected as he got faster in the final laps

Bulega said he was not ‘enjoying’ replacing Marquez as he was too focused on what he had to do to get used to the GP25. The Michelin tyre, not like the Pirelli rubber he is used to in WSBK, created difficulties in braking for the 26-year-old.

It was something he had to adapt to for the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday, and his data shows that he did just that. He kept pace with the field throughout the race and was elevated into the points after Bagnaia crashed on lap 10.

Bulega was chasing down home hero Miguel Oliveira in P14, but made a mistake on lap 17. This, as per a report from GPOne, ‘made him lose a good three seconds’.

However, the Italian responded in the final six laps with blistering pace, lapping under 1:40:00 bar one lap. He set his best time of the race on lap 23, setting a 1:39:391.

The Ducati rider found his best performance at the end of the race, ‘improving instead of getting worse as could be expected’. He seemed to find some comfort with the Michelin tyre and the GP25, allowing him to produce much stronger pace than many would have foreseen.

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

How will Nicolo Bulega perform at Valencia?

Bulega will be straight back in action this weekend at Valencia in what will be his second and final MotoGP race, for now at least. These experiences will be a valuable learning curve for his testing and reserve role with Ducati in 2026.

Like Portimao, the Italian has never ridden a MotoGP bike at the circuit before now, but he is familiar with the track from his Moto2 and Moto3. However, his results do not make for good viewing.

He finished 12th at Valencia on his Moto3 debut back in 2015, before finishing 17th the following year. Bulega did not race at the circuit in 2017 or 2018.

Results did not improve at Valencia when he moved up to Moto2, finishing 22nd in 2019. He grabbed his best result at the track with P9 the following year, only to finish down in 24th in 2021 – MotoGP could bring some new fortune for Bulega.