Nicolo Bulega grilled about Ducati departure

Nicolo Bulega insists he hopes to stay at Ducati - and believes the feeling is mutual.

Bulega’s future has become a hot topic in the World Superbike Championship paddock because of his brilliant rookie campaign.

The teammate of Alvaro Bautista would be coveted by Ducati’s rivals unless they tie him down to a longer contract.

Will Nicolo Bulega stay at Ducati?

But Bulega confirmed: “We’re talking with Ducati and Aruba.

“For the moment, we’re just talking.

“My goal is to stay here because I have a very good feeling with my team, the bike and everyone in the garage.

“I think the goal of everybody is to stay together.”

The future of Bulega’s main WorldSBK rival Toprak Razgatlioglu is also up for debate, because the BMW star is being linked with MotoGP.

Bulega enters this weekend’s third round of the 2025 WorldSBK season at Assen as the championship leader.

That is owing to a brilliant opener at Phillip Island which was enough to prompt Razgatlioglu to criticise WorldSBK as a ‘Ducati Cup’.

Although Razgatlioglu won three times in Portimao, Bulega was noticeable close at a circuit which was always likely to favour the BMW rider.

Bulega said in the Netherlands: “I feel good. Assen is a track that I like a lot and in WorldSSP, I won two races, had pole position, and it’s a track I like.

“Last year in WorldSBK wasn’t easy because the weather was difficult.

“I feel completely different this year. I always have fun here at Assen.

“For my riding style, I think it’s better than Portimao, but you can never be sure.”