{"id":320342,"date":"2025-12-01T10:24:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T10:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/320342\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T10:24:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T10:24:07","slug":"reports-from-italy-hint-at-early-2027-motogp-bike-test-debut-for-ducati","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/320342\/","title":{"rendered":"Reports from Italy hint at early 2027 MotoGP bike test debut for Ducati"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Reports from Italy have surfaced suggesting Ducati could debut its 2027 MotoGP prototype as early as April next year, with Nicolo Bulega set for at least three tests on it.<\/p>\n<p>The 2027 season will see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MotoGP<\/a>\u2019s biggest regulations shift in over 10 years, as it moves away from the 1000cc engine formula it has used since 2012 in favour of an 850cc concept.<\/p>\n<p>The new bikes are also set to feature less aerodynamic development and a ban on ride height devices, all aimed at reducing speeds and improving the spectacle.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest shift for 2027, however, will be the switch from Michelin tyres to Pirelli.<\/p>\n<p>At the end of the 2024 season, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/teams\/ducati-lenovo-team\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ducati<\/a> general manager Gigi Dall\u2019Igna told the media that he anticipated putting the Italian brand\u2019s first 2027 prototype on track sometime this year.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>However, prior to the start of the 2025 campaign, testing of 2027 bikes was restricted to 2026 in order to keep costs under control.<\/p>\n<p>When will Ducati\u2019s 2027 MotoGP bike hit the track?<\/p>\n<p>According to a report from Italy\u2019s GPOne, Ducati could hold the first track test of its 2027 prototype as early as April next year.<\/p>\n<p>The outlet says long-time Ducati test rider Michele Pirro will carry out the initial evaluation.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this Autumn, Ducati team manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/news\/1085994\/1\/ducati-confirms-major-2027-motogp-role-nicolo-bulega\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Davide Tardozzi revealed that World Superbike star Nicolo Bulega <\/a>would effectively spearhead development of the 2027 bike next year.<\/p>\n<p>His knowledge of the Pirelli rubber, as well as his form in World Superbikes in recent years, has earned him a test role in MotoGP for 2026 with a view to a race seat in 2027.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Bulega, according to GPOne, is set to jump on the 2027 bike for the first time in June.<\/p>\n<p>Conceivably, this could likely be directly after the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, which runs from 29-31 May.<\/p>\n<p>Bulega is contractually obligated to make at least three test outings on the GP27, with others to be negotiated.<\/p>\n<p>This will likely depend on Bulega\u2019s own racing commitment next year, where he is expected to be the overwhelming favourite for the World Superbike crown.<\/p>\n<p>All manufacturers are keeping 2027 bike details close to their chest, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/news\/1083172\/1\/first-fire-new-850cc-2027-motogp-engine-revealed-ktm\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">though KTM did unveil a fire-up video of its new engine a few weeks ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Reports from Italy have surfaced suggesting Ducati could debut its 2027 MotoGP prototype as early as April next&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":320343,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,8456,806,805,803,804,6909,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-320342","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-ducati-lenovo-team","11":"tag-motor","12":"tag-motor-sports","13":"tag-motosport","14":"tag-motosports","15":"tag-nicolo-bulega","16":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=320342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/320342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/320343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=320342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=320342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=320342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}