VR46 Responds to Bulega's 850cc MotoGP Pace: Ducati Is Very Fast

VR46 team manager Pablo Nieto has responded to Nicolo Bulega's impressive pace on Ducati's 850cc MotoGP prototype during a private test at Mugello on Thursday. Bulega, who is tipped to join Valentino Rossi's squad in 2027, reportedly set the fastest time, 1.2 seconds ahead of Takaaki Nakagami's Honda.

According to GPone.com, Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia) and Dani Pedrosa (KTM) were also on track. Bulega is expected to partner Fermin Aldeguer at VR46 in 2027, replacing Fabio di Giannantonio who moves to factory KTM.

"I'm very happy that Ducati is very fast. So this is the most important thing," Nieto told MotoGP pit lane reporter Jack Appleyard. "Because in the end, it's going to be a new era, completely new for everyone. But it's very important that we continue in the same range, the same atmosphere. And at the moment, we have to say that Ducati is doing very good work."

Read AlsoAlex Marquez Tops MotoGP UK FP1, Beats Bezzecchi

Meanwhile, Fabio di Giannantonio starts the second half of the season as one of five riders within 24 points of the title lead. "It's very nice that we are fighting for the championship. Five people in 24 points - we know that this is going to be very, very difficult," Nieto said. "But the most important thing is that we are protagonists. We will try to fight until the end."

Di Giannantonio reverted to the older aero package during FP1 at Silverstone after two Sunday crashes with the new fairing at Sachsenring. "Good question, but no. I think sometimes this happens when you have something that is already working - and also the rider sometimes wants to try something else," Nieto explained. "We tried the other aerodynamics, but the difference is just a little bit. So we came back because he feels very good with this fairing."

His teammate Franco Morbidelli, linked to Bulega's Ducati WorldSBK seat for next season, was ninth in FP1 on the satellite-spec GP25. With Bulega's pace, the 850cc era is shaping up to be intriguing.