Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) is back in action in 2026 as he rolled out onto the tarmac for Day 2 of the Jerez test event. While poor weather limited riders from sinking their teeth into their respective to-do lists, Bulega took the opportunity to remind the field about his phenomenal pace, rain or shine. Sporting the new 2026 Ducati Panigale V4R, Bulega is happy with the work put in by the engineers and is looking forward to making more progress at Portimao’s upcoming test event!

SLIPPERY WHEN WET: “There were lots of wet patches around the track, and I crashed at Turn 5 because I hit a wet patch”

The #11 didn’t bother trying to test on Day 1 with the heavy rainfall that saw most riders throw in the towel by around midday. Day 2 looked promising as the track got drier and drier in the early afternoon. By around 15:00, raindrops began to fall once again on the track. Riders like Bulega, who had already elected for just a half day of testing, mostly turned in at that sight as it became clear the track wasn’t going to get any drier from then on.

On his Day 2, Bulega said: “The test wasn’t too bad, the problem was the weather, the track conditions were very bad. There were lots of wet patches around the track, and I crashed at Turn 5 because I hit a wet patch. I’m fine though, it wasn’t a very useful test because I only did 20 laps, last time I rode the bike was my MotoGP appearances, so I just used these laps to get the superbike feeling back, and I hope next week will be better.”

A SILVER LINING: “The first impression with the new bike has been good”

While the test at Jerez was not as productive as he may have hoped, he has fortunately already gotten his first feel for the 2026 Ducati Panigale V4R after riding it last year. He hopes to quickly master the new features of the bike, such as the double swing arm on the 2026 model. If so, outpacing Bulega on his day this season will be a tall order for the rest of the grid.

On his view of the 2026 homologation so far, Bulega said: “The first impression with the new bike has been good, I already tried it last year in October, it’s a new bike, so we need to stay on it and lay down more laps. We are hoping, first of all, for good weather; we haven’t had good luck the last few years. Apart from that, we’re hoping to run lots of laps, stay on the bike and work well with the team.”

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