VR46 MotoGP fill-in ride “maybe not the right choice” for Nicolo Bulega

After Fabio Di Giannantonio confirmed he would be having shoulder surgery following next weekend’s MotoGP Thai Grand Prix, the question of who will replace the Italian at the VR46 Ducati team in the final two races has emerged.

The Malaysian Grand Prix and Valencia Grand Prix will remain following Di Giannantonio’s final race of the season in Thailand next week, but the VR46 team is yet to name a replacement.

The most logical answer is Ducati test rider Michele Pirro, but WorldSBK stars Nicolo Bulega and Andrea Iannone have also emerged as candidates for the two-race fill-in ride.

For Bulega, deciding whether or not he wants to be rider on the VR46 Ducati alongside Marco Bezzecchi at the final two Grands Prix of the season is not straightforward.

“I don’t know about MotoGP,” Bulega told Eurosport, following his fifth win of the 2024 WorldSBK season in Race 1 at this weekend’s Spanish Round, when asked whether he will be the rider to replace Di Giannantonio in Malaysia and Valencia..

“I would really like to try, because it’s the target of every rider to try.

“But to go to a MotoGP race without any test, I think maybe is not the right choice.”

He did add, though: “If I can try, why not?”

Bulega took the fifth win of his debut WorldSBK campaign in Race 1 in Jerez in dominant fashion, beating Toprak Razgatlioglu — whose second place saw him crowned 2024 World Superbike Champion — by over six seconds.

“I’m really happy because that’s the maximum I can do, so we take the maximum and I’m really happy,” Bulega said.

“Congratulations to Toprak [Razgatlioglu], because he deserves this title — he was very fast all the season.

“But, for me, winning here, before next year, is something very important for my head.”

Bulega’s rookie season has seen him secure second in the riders’ standings, take now five race wins, and finish on the podium now 22 times out of 34 races, with two races still to run.

“This year was an unexpected year for me, because I didn’t expect to win some races and make a lot of podiums,” Bulega confessed.

“So, I’m really happy for this season, really happy for this win because winning the last race is important — I know that we have another two races tomorrow, but it’s very good for my mentality for next year.”

After such a successful rookie campaign, the situation changes in 2025 for Bulega, as the experience gained throughout 2024 brings additional pressure.

“This year I didn’t have any kind of pressure because it was my first year and it’s not my job to win the title,” he explained.

“So, I’m really happy and really proud of what we did, me and my team.

“Next year, I will not be anymore a rookie — I will have one year of experience.

“I will try to do my best like always, but this is a World Championship, so you can win, you can lose, but the target is to fight every time for [the podium].”