Agreement reached
Nicolò Bulega, absolute dominator of the 2026 Superbike season, will race in MotoGP next year and will be a VR46 team rider. The agreement is not yet official, but the negotiation – which has been known for some time and became even more concrete since May, when it became clear that Fabio Di Giannantonio would leave the Italian team – has now come to an end. The agreement was revealed by Sky Sport MotoGP.
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As almost always happens in these cases (the only exception was the Bagnaia-Aprilia pairing) the contract duration will be two years: Bulega will therefore wear the colors of Valentino Rossi’s team at least until the end of the 2028 season. It is no secret that the Rossi-Salucci duo needed, also for sponsor and marketing reasons, an Italian rider to pair with Fermìn Aldeguer and Bulega perfectly fits this profile. Furthermore, Luca Marini’s move – another candidate for the yellow seat – to the KTM Tech3 team obviously facilitated the operations.
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Tricolor survivor
Bulega is particularly awaited because, given his extensive knowledge of Pirelli tires, he could find himself advantaged compared to other riders when at the start of next season MotoGP replaces the Michelin tire supply with that of the Italian company. There remains curiosity about how Bulega’s salary will be divided: whether it will be entirely borne by the VR46 team or if there will be a contribution from Ducati. In any case, Bulega will have the MotoGP chance he has dreamed of for years and will also be able to count on the support of all Italian fans: he will indeed be the only tricolor standard-bearer among a squad of five Spanish riders among all six Borgo Panigale bikes on track.
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