Nicolo Bulega's first MotoGP Sprint Race saw him end up in the gravel after he attempted to brake like he was riding a Superbike.

Saturday at the Portuguese Grand Prix was Nicolo Bulega's second day as an official MotoGP rider in the Ducati Lenovo Team.

The Italian rider started the day off in a positive way as he ended the damp Free Practice Two session in 13th place, before Qualifying down in 18th place.

It was during the Sprint Race on Saturday afternoon that saw Bulega reach his first difficulties on a MotoGP machine, as he crashed out of the Sprint Race whilst chasing Franco Morbidelli.

The World Superbike runner-up revealed that he attempted to brake in a 'Superbike style', which caused him to lose the front whilst he was completely straight.

"It was a day where I couldn’t put everything together, but I saw some positive things," Bulega told Sky Italia.

"I’m struggling a bit with braking: with the Pirelli tyres, you can be aggressive and stop the bike immediately. With these [Michelins], you can’t be aggressive in the first braking section; you have to brake later.

"In qualifying, I made a mistake in the last corner, while in the Sprint I was doing a good lap, except that I braked in a ‘Superbike style’."

Bulega added: "It was my first laps with the hard front tyre and I was trying to understand how it works.

"I overtook some riders, and I was trying to push to catch Morbidelli, but I braked too hard and lost the front while I was completely straight.

"This is the most difficult thing for me now because the braking style in MotoGP is the complete opposite of Superbike."