Ducati MotoGP winner labels “phenomenon on par” with Toprak Razgatlioglu
One former MotoGP race winner is full of praise for a Ducati Superbike star
Two-time MotoGP race winner Danilo Petrucci has labelled Nicolo Bulega as a “phenomenon”, and believes he is “on par” with Toprak Razgatlioglu.
This year’s World Superbike title fight went down to the wire between BMW’s Toprak Razgatlioglu and Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega.
Razgatlioglu ultimately won out for his third world title, as he heads for MotoGP in 2026 with the Pramac Yamaha squad.
Bulega is the hot favourite for the 2026 World Superbike title, with the Italian also dovetailing his campaign with a prominent test role in MotoGP for Ducati.
The Italian scored two points from two stand-in appearances in MotoGP in place of the injured Marc Marquez at the end of last season.
Bulega is expected to be on the MotoGP grid in 2027 within one of Ducati’s teams, as he spearheads development of the 850cc bike on Pirelli rubber.
Petrucci has backed both of his World Superbike colleagues to win races in MotoGP, while adding that Bulega deserves to be held in the same breath as Razgatlioglu.
“Honestly, Nicolo has shown himself to be very, very strong this year,” he told Moto.it.
“I already knew he was strong, but this year he's really proven himself to be a phenomenon, in my opinion, on par with Toprak, who has already gone to MotoGP.
“I think Nicolo will catch up with him soon; within a year, he'll be there because he deserves it.
“I have the utmost respect for both Bulega and Toprak; I think they can both win MotoGP races.”
Petrucci won his first MotoGP race with Ducati at the Italian Grand Prix in 2019, following that up in 2020 at the wet French Grand Prix.
Riding a customer Ducati last season in World Superbikes, the veteran Italian will join BMW for the 2026 campaign.
He will partner five-time MotoGP race winner Miguel Oliveira, who steps over from the Pramac Yamaha squad having lost his ride to Razgatlioglu.
In this article
