Official announcement
The wait is over. Nicolò Bulega will race in MotoGP in 2027 with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, riding the Ducati Desmosedici GP that opens the championship's 850cc technical era. The official announcement came on Wednesday 9 September 2026, only days after the Magny-Cours weekend that put Nicolò a step away from the WorldSBK title. He will line up alongside Fermín Aldeguer, completing the Tavullia squad's 2027 line-up.
A move that isn't just a step up in class — it's a homecoming. Back in 2015 Nicolò had made his Grand Prix debut as a Moto3 wild card with the VR46 Racing Team, having won the FIM CEV Moto3 Junior Championship that same year. He then went on to race the following three seasons in the lightweight class with the Tavullia team, and his first Moto2 year in 2019, before moving on to Gresini and then to the Ducati Panigale V2 in Supersport. Eleven years after that first Grand Prix start, his orbit swings back to Tavullia — this time in the premier class.
It's no leap into the unknown. Throughout 2026 Nicolò has worked as an official Ducati MotoGP test rider developing the new 850cc prototype, and he's already had a taste of the premier class in race conditions too: he was a replacement rider in the last two races of the previous season with the factory Ducati team. The Desmosedici GP, then, is not a stranger.
"Making it to MotoGP is a dream, also because I will make my debut with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team. I chose this team because I've always been close to them: when I was young I was in the VR46 Riders Academy, I know everyone well", Bulega said. "When I started racing my goal was to end up here. Then, for a number of reasons, my career took a slightly different path: I got to WorldSBK, where I focused on building a good career. But these years have gone well beyond my expectations, so we decided to make the jump to the premier class. It took me a bit longer and I've taken a slightly different route than usual, but I'm proud of it."
From the team side, Alessio "Uccio" Salucci (Team Director): "We are very happy to welcome Nicolò to the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team. We've known Nicolò for many years, he started his career with us and we achieved great results together. I see him ready to face this new adventure with great maturity and awareness."
Pablo Nieto, Team Manager: "He hasn't always had an easy path, but he's dominating a championship like WorldSBK; he's proved he deserves a place in MotoGP. Next year the regulations change and everyone starts from scratch. His experience with WorldSBK tyres and his tests with the new Ducati Desmosedici GP as Ducati test rider will help him adapt to the class."
From Borgo Panigale, Gigi Dall'Igna (General Manager Ducati Corse) also chose to acknowledge the team that has guided Nicolò this far: "The new commitment will have to wait: for now, everyone's focus stays fully on the WorldSBK Championship. Nicolò is having a great season and it's time to put all our efforts into a single goal: fighting together for the world title. I want to thank Aruba.it Racing–Ducati Team for the work done alongside Nicolò over these seasons. They were the first to believe in him."
Before looking to MotoGP, though, a thought has to go to those who made all of this possible. Aruba.it Racing – Ducati is the team that back in 2022 welcomed Nicolò into the production-derived world, took him to the Supersport World Championship title, put the Panigale V4R in his hands on his WorldSBK debut and built with him one of the most dominant seasons in the championship's recent history. To all the staff, and to everyone at Aruba.it who believed in this project from day one, our most sincere thanks: the MotoGP move that comes in 2027 runs through here.
Before 2027 comes the 2026 target: closing out the Superbike World Championship. With 26 wins in 27 races and a now-crushing championship lead, the appointment is at the next round in Cremona — where everything could become mathematical.
