How Nicolo Bulega compared to Francesco Bagnaia in ‘secret’ Misano MotoGP test

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Nicolo Bulega has been testing the latest version of Ducati’s 2027 MotoGP bike at Misano, with all five manufacturers on track.

While the big headline from the test was the participation of Cal Crutchlow, who makes a shock return for LCR Honda this weekend as a replacement for Johann Zarco, Bulega set the fastest time of the test.

The rider who has won 17 World Superbikes races in a row set a 1:31.9, according to ‘secret’ data obtained by Motorpasion Moto.

Nicolo Bulega only 1.9 seconds off Francesco Bagnaia lap record on 2027 Ducati

As the report points out, Bulega’s lap time is within two seconds of the circuit’s all-time lap record – a 1:30.031 set by Ducati colleague Francesco Bagnaia in 2024.

While they were riding different generations of bikes, the comparison is still eye-catching. The expectation was that lap times would become significantly slower next year, but that might not be the case after all.

One of the main reasons for switching to 850cc engines, as opposed to 1000cc, is a desire to reduce speeds in the interests of safety. But while the bikes have lost some straight-line speed, they are faster through the corners.

Given Bulega’s inexperience in MotoGP – he has only made two appearances in the premier class – one imagines the real performance gap is smaller than 1.5 seconds too.

What’s more, the bikes won’t race competitively until February or March next year, giving the manufacturers even more time to close the gap. It may not be long before lap records are coming under threat.

Will Nicolo Bulega be riding a 2027 MotoGP bike full-time?

Bulega is determined to move to MotoGP next year as he romps to the WSBK title. He wants to renew his rivalry with Toprak Razgatlioglu in a new discipline.

The potential vacancy is at VR46. Pedro Acosta and Marc Marquez will form the factory line-up, with Bagnaia moving to Aprilia, while Gresini will reportedly field an all-new partnership of Joan Mir and Daniel Holgado.

Fermin Aldeguer is reportedly moving over to VR46, but with Fabio Di Giannantonio heading to KTM, there’s potentially an opening on the other side of the garage.

The underperforming Franco Morbidelli is still in contention, but faces competition from Bulega, academy rider Celestino Vietti and Valentino Rossi’s half-brother, Luca Marini.