Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) will add to the list of names when he makes the move from the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship to MotoGP on a full-time basis in 2027, having secured a seat with the Pertmina Enduro VR46 Racing Team squad on Ducati machinery. The #11 already had a taste of his new home in 2025 but will now look to follow in the footsteps of some other big names who made the same switch.
CRUTCHLOW MOVES ACROSS
Cal Crutchlow made his world stage debut with a few one-off WorldSSP appearances in 2005 and 2006, before a WorldSBK debut in 2008. He returned to WorldSSP for 2009 and won the title before a solitary full season in WorldSBK. Fifth in the standings helped the Coventry-born star to a MotoGP seat and he was a success in the class. He started 180 races, and claimed 11 podiums including three victories for Honda.
SPIES MAKES HIS MARK
Ben Spies only needed one WorldSBK campaign to leave his mark on the Championship. 14 wins in 28 races helped him to win the 2009 title with Yamaha before he made the move to MotoGP for 2010 on a full-time basis – though he did make four one-off appearances in 2008 and 2009. In his first Grand Prix season, he was never outside the eight when finishing races, and it took just five races to get a first podium with third place at Silverstone. He won at Assen in 2011 and finished his MotoGP career with one victory and six podiums.
VICTORIOUS VERMEULEN
Australian rider Chris Vermeulen is another who was able to win in both Championships. He took the 2003 WorldSSP title before competing in two seasons in WorldSBK. 10 wins followed and that secured the Aussie a move to MotoGP for 2006 – though he made his debut a year prior. He was on the podium in his first season, at Phillip Island, before taking his first and only MotoGP victory in 2007 at Le Mans. He finished his career with 23 WorldSBK podiums and 10 wins, plus seven MotoGP rostrums and a single victory.
TAMADA’S WILDCARD TO GRAND PRIX STORY
Makoto Tamada has a vastly different story. He competed in several wildcards in WorldSBK between 1999 and 2002 – all at Sugo. When finishing races, in his eight wildcards, he was never outside the top ten and won three of them. For 2003, he secured a MotoGP ride where his talent prevailed again as he raced for Pramac Honda. He claimed a first podium in his maiden season, finishing third in Brazil, before taking two wins in 2004: in Brazil and on home soil at Japan. His career finished with five MotoGP rostrums and two wins, plus four podiums and three wins in WorldSBK.
EDWARDS VS BAYLISS ENTERS A SECOND PADDOCK
Colin Edwards vs Troy Bayliss was a rivalry that dominated the 2002 WorldSBK season, culminating in a showdown at Imola. Edwards came out on top that year, but both moved to MotoGP for 2003 with Bayliss on the rostrum in his first season – totalling three – and a fourth came at the end of the 2004 season. Of course, Bayliss also won the 2006 Valencia Grand Prix as a replacement rider. For Edwards, he claimed 12 rostrums over a long MotoGP career that ended halfway through the 2014 season. There are potentially some parallels between the Edwards-Bayliss rivalry and the Razgatlioglu-Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) one in 2025 – both were a step ahead, both duelled it out for the title and both will get their moves to MotoGP; Razgatlioglu moved there for 2026, while Bulega will join him in 2027.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
Noriyuki Haga is a well-known name in bike racing and he’s another who made the transition to MotoGP from WorldSBK. He got his first taste of Grand Prix racing in 1998, taking a rostrum on home soil at Suzuka. He returned in 2001 for a full-season campaign, and again in 2003, but was unable to hit the high notes of 1998 and returned to WorldSBK where, despite numerous wins, he was ever quite able to claim the title. Ruben Xaus finished as WorldSBK runner-up in 2003 and then made the move to MotoGP for 2004 and 2005, claiming a single podium, before returning to WorldSBK. Simon Crafar made plenty of WorldSBK starts between 1989 and 1993, but never a full season, before his MotoGP debut in 1993. In 1994, he got a full WorldSBK campaign under his belt and remained there until 1997, taking 10 podiums. For 1998 and 1999, he was in MotoGP, winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Five WorldSBK races was all it took for Doug Chandler before he moved to MotoGP, where he competed for four seasons, claiming six rostrums. In WorldSBK, he finished with five podiums and two wins. Of course, some riders have gone more recently than some of the names mentioned here. Eugene Laverty competed in four WorldSBK campaigns between 2011 and 2014 before moving to Grand Prix racing, for two seasons. He then returned to WorldSBK. Loris Baz raced in WorldSBK between 2012 and 2014 before he made the move across with Laverty, although the Frenchman stayed there for three seasons before venturing back to World Superbike. Of course, as recently as this season, three-time Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu switched to MotoGP with the Pramac Yamaha outfit.
WINNERS IN BOTH
Of course, there have been several riders able to win in both Championships, even if they switched from MotoGP to WorldSBK. Carlos Checa won two MotoGP races before moving to World Superbike, before he was crowned Champion in 2011. John Kocinski made the move in 1996, winning both races in his first round at Misano. The late, great Nicky Hayden, the 2006 MotoGP Champion, was a three-time premier class winner before tasting victory in WorldSBK. Marco Melandri had five MotoGP wins to his name and added 22 WorldSBK victories, while Max Biaggi took 13 500cc/MotoGP victories before his 21 WorldSBK wins – including two titles.
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