Marco Bezzecchi
Nadia Padovani is not interested in letting Ducati impose Nicolo Bulega on Gresini for the 2027 MotoGP season, amid suggestions that Fermin Aldeguer will now join VR46.
Gresini have run Aldeguer since his debut in MotoGP during the 2025 campaign, after Ducati chose the Faenza crew over VR46 as their satellite team for whom they wanted the Spaniard to race. But Ducati are now believed to be planning a switch to VR46 for Aldeguer next term.
It is said that Ducati upset Gresini owner Padovani by giving Aldeguer to VR46 for 2027, after the Bologna Bullets offered the one-time Grand Prix winner amid their negotiations to retain VR46 as a satellite team. Aldeguer is on a factory Ducati contract, which they plan to extend.
Ducati are understood to have taken up their option on Aldeguer’s contract, which locks him in with the Borgo Panigale brand through 2028. So, Gresini now need to find two new riders for 2027, as it is also suggested that Alex Marquez will join the factory KTM team from 2027.
Fermin Aldeguer and Alex Marquez are both expected to leave Gresini – Which riders should they sign to replace them in 2027?
Gresini will only sign Nicolo Bulega over Enea Bastianini for 2027 if Nadia Padovani agrees
Recent reports have also suggested that Padovani has now decided to replace Aldeguer and Marquez with Tech3 rider Enea Bastianini and Moto2 wonder Daniel Holgado. It is even said that Gresini will soon confirm the signings of Bastianini and Holgado for the 2027 campaign.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Nicolo Bulega from height to career
But MOW now claims that while Padovani will ‘never’ close the door to Bastianini returning, having raced for Gresini in 2022, she is in ‘no rush’ in her search for a big-name rider. So, the Faenza natives will also not let Ducati impose Bulega on them to help him switch to MotoGP.
Bulega is intent on leaving the World Superbike Championship at the end of this season and proving himself in MotoGP. But Ducati are running out of options to place Bulega in MotoGP, with their factory line-up full and VR46 likely to add Aldeguer next to Fabio Di Giannantonio.
Without Ducati expanding their satellite stable, which is extremely unlikely, Gresini are now their final hope to place Bulega in MotoGP. Yet Padovani has ‘no intention’ of letting Ducati ‘impose’ a rider on Gresini, so they will only sign Bulega if she believes he is the best option.
Bulega’s time in World Superbikes with the works Ducati team is likely to reach a natural end this year, as he entered the season as the champion-elect. Toprak Razgatlioglu switching to MotoGP with Pramac Yamaha in 2026 left Bulega in a league of one at the front of WSBK.
The 26-year-old has so far lived up to expectations with a perfect record of six wins after the first two rounds in Australia and Portugal. It is very likely that Bulega could win every race in the 2026 World Superbike season if he avoids any reliability issues, such is his lack of a rival.
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