Nicolo Bulega has one crucial request from Ducati as contract talks begin

The 2024 WorldSBK season saw Nicolo Bulega emerge as one of the series standout talents in his rookie year, giving him an increased value that he wants to leverage.

After finishing second in the World Championship last season, Bulega’s clear sporting target for 2025 is to go one step better and win the world title, defeating Toprak Razgatlioglu.

However – according to the Italian publication GPOne, who spoke to Bulega’s manager, Alberto Martinelli, at the Monza Rally Show at the beginning of December – the Italian is also seeking greater terms in his contract with the factory Ducati team.

In essence, Bulega – whose current Ducati deal expires at the end of this year – wants an increase in his salary, something reflective of his transition from promising rookie to race winner and championship contender.

Bulega having demands of Ducati means he will likely look to other manufacturers to fill them, too, although GPOne assures that the Italian’s priority is to stay put.

After all, it was Ducati who took him to his first, and so far only, world title in the 2023 Supersport World Championship, who gave him a factory bike despite his underwhelming Moto2 career, and who promoted him straight to the factory team in 2024 for his debut Superbike campaign.

Not only that, Ducati has the promise of a new bike in 2026, with the new-generation Panigale V4 R opening new opportunities for development, and the possibility of increased performance over the current bike, which has proven to be the best package in the championship over the past three seasons at least.

It seems unlikely that Ducati will let Bulega, who won six races in his rookie year, leave at the end of only his second season, especially if Alvaro Bautista retires at the end of the season; primarily because there is limited availability of riders who would be a clear upgrade on Bulega.

There is obviously the allure of a rider like Razgatlioglu, although the Turkish rider would probably demand more money than Bulega in order to leave BMW, where he’s proven he can win titles, for a project that isn’t in MotoGP; and then there is Jonathan Rea, who might be cheaper than Razgatlioglu or Bulega, but might no longer be better than either of them.