Overview
- Called up to replace the injured Marc Marquez, Nicolo Bulega stepped into the factory Ducati for the late-season rounds following a brief Jerez evaluation.
- Bulega crashed out of Saturday’s Sprint on lap 4 after braking in a 'Superbike style' on a hard front tyre, which he said caught him out under initial braking.
- He responded with 15th in Sunday’s Grand Prix to collect one championship point, recovering after an early mistake that he said cost three to four seconds.
- His late-race pace was notable, setting a 1:39.391 on lap 23 of 25 with only five riders faster on that lap and a race-best time within 0.2s of Fabio di Giannantonio.
- Ducati confirmed he will continue as the stand-in at Valencia, as team-mate Francesco Bagnaia’s weekend ended with a crash from fourth in the Grand Prix.