Pirelli\u2019s prototype MotoGP tyres make the grand prix bikes feel more similar to WorldSBK machines, Nicolo Bulega thinks.<\/p>\n
Bulega drove 900km from Balaton Park to Mugello after winning all three WorldSBK<\/a> races at the Hungarian Round on 1\u20133 May in order to complete his first test with Ducati\u2019s 850cc MotoGP<\/a> bike.<\/p>\n The Italian had ridden a MotoGP test last October at Jerez, and then raced twice at Portimao and Valencia at the end of the 2025 season in place of the injured Marc Marquez<\/a>. Then, of course, he was riding the 1,000cc Desmosedici with Michelin tyres, whereas in the test earlier this month he rode the 850cc bike with Pirellis.<\/p>\n The tyres made a big difference to the feeling he had on the bike, he explained.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year, when I did the wildcard races, the hardest part was adapting to the Michelins,\u201d Nicolo Bulega<\/a> said on Friday at the Czech WorldSBK, as reported by GPOne.com, \u201cbecause the tyres are very different.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I went back to Superbike, it took me two or three days to readjust to the Pirellis.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis time, however, it was much easier, because I tested the MotoGP bike with Pirelli tyres.<\/p>\n \u201cThe tyres are still a bit different, because one is MotoGP and the other is Superbike, but the family is very similar.\u201d<\/p>\n He added: \u201cWhen I did my first MotoGP tests, the feeling was very close to that of Superbike. And this morning [FP1 in Czechia], getting back on the Superbike, I immediately felt at ease.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe main difference remains the bike, but above all, thanks to the tyres, there was no need for a major adjustment from one category to the other.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Other than the tyres and the engine displacement, the main difference between the current MotoGP bikes and the ones that will be used from 2027 is the lack of ride height devices. This makes the prospect of moving to MotoGP simpler for a Superbike or Moto2 rider, Bulega thinks.<\/p>\n \u201cFor those coming from Superbike or Moto2, it\u2019s much simpler because you don\u2019t have to constantly think about the [devices],\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I tested the MotoGP bike in the past, it was hard for me to always remember to use them.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut in last week\u2019s Mugello test, it was great because I was riding a MotoGP bike but in a way it was very similar to a Superbike.\u201d<\/p>\n Bulega took his 17th consecutive WorldSBK win at Autodrom Most on Saturday (16 May). It was also his 26th consecutive podium, beating the previous record of 25 held by Colin Edwards<\/a> and Toprak Razgatlioglu<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n The Italian remains linked with a MotoGP seat for next year, although nothing is yet confirmed.<\/p>\n Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pirelli\u2019s prototype MotoGP tyres make the grand prix bikes feel more similar to WorldSBK machines, Nicolo Bulega thinks.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":676522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[6910,64,63,17197,806,805,803,804,6909,85],"class_list":["post-676521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-aruba-it-racing-ducati","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ducati","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-nicolo-bulega","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676521","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=676521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/676522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}