I’m Valentino Rossi’s forgotten protege - “people don’t know the background”
“On social media people write many things which have nothing to do with it"
One of Valentino Rossi’s former proteges made a welcome return to riding at the Ranch recently.
While Francesco Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi, Luca Marini and Franco Morbidelli remain regulars in Tavullia, and owe much of their growth into MotoGP to Rossi, one ex–pupil went it alone.
Nicolo Bulega left the VR46 Academy five years ago.
He then swapped the Moto2 paddock for World Supersport, and won that title, before progressing into the World Superbike Championship for the first time this year.
Bulega ran Toprak Razgatlioglu close in his rookie campaign but, now in his off-season, made a rare return to Rossi’s Ranch.
“On social media people write many things which have nothing to do with it,” Bulega told GPOne.
“People don’t know the background. But I can say that I have a great relationship with Valentino Rossi.
“The same goes for Uccio Salucci. We stayed up talking until almost midnight.
“On the track, Vale is still very fast. I didn’t beat him but the important thing is that it was a great fun day.”
Bulega added: “It had been six years since I was at the Ranch.
“Flat track is a sport in which you need consistency and it’s difficult to be competitive if you don’t train.
“It’s a bit like riding a bike. You don’t forget how to do it but you miss the automatisms.
“It was a great fun day. There were a lot of guys. I was fifth in the Americana.
“When I was in the academy I remember going fast at the Ranch.
“I haven’t forgotten about the flat track. I just have to get my automatisms back.”
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
