Nicolo Bulega will make his MotoGP debut this weekend with the Ducati Lenovo Team in the Portuguese Grand Prix.

This weekend will mark Nicolo Bulega's return to the Grand Prix paddock as he will make his debut in the MotoGP World Championship at Portimao.

The Italian rider has spent the last four years in the World Superbike paddock, but has entered MotoGP this weekend as a replacement rider for the 2025 MotoGP Champion, Marc Marquez.

After fighting for the World Superbike paddock in 2024 and 2025, Bulega has proven his talent, but he expects a difficult weekend at the Portuguese Grand Prix.

"I am really excited, it is nice to come back to this paddock with these colours," Bulega told MotoGP.com ahead of his debut weekend in the premier class.

"I am really happy for this opportunity, but I know that it will be difficult. Because last week I did a test in Jerez and I did fewer than 30 laps. With this bike, it is not so easy to understand a lot of things, which we do not normally have in Superbikes.

"I will use this weekend to try to gain experience and have fun on the bike."

'You have to change everything, there is not one certain thing...'

In the past, transitioning from racing a Superbike to a prototype Grand Prix machine has proven to be a significant challenge. Bulega realised that he had to completely change his riding style when he first started riding the Ducati GP25.

"Sometimes we see some riders who are very fast, that need some years before they win in MotoGP," he explained.

"Because the bike is not easy, you have to learn a lot of different things that we don't have in Superbikes. It is not easy when you can ride something, and then you have to change everything."

Several factors differentiate the Ducati Panigale V4 R from the Ducati Desmosedici GP25. Bulega realises he has much work to do this weekend to be competitive.

"There is not one certain thing, but a little bit of everything," he stated.

"Carbon brakes, [holeshot] devices, the engine is faster, the chassis is very different, the tyres are very different, and if you put them all together, it is an incredible difference.

"I will just try to understand what I have to do, and then we will see."