Nicolo Bulega has been confirmed as Alvaro Bautista’s team-mate at Aruba.it Ducati for the 2024 WorldSBK Championship.
The Italian will be promoted from the Italian manufacturer’s factory Aruba.it Racing set-up in WorldSSP, which Bulega currently leads by a comfortable margin with three rounds remaining.
“I want to be honest: this is a dream come true. Racing for an official team is the desire of every rider. Therefore, before I talk about my emotions and expectations, I want to thank Ducati and Aruba.it Racing.
“And I am also extremely grateful for the opportunity I was given already last season by Aruba.it and Feel Racing and especially by Stefano Cecconi, Serafino Foti and Daniele Casolari. They chose me to ride a fantastic Ducati Panigale V2, on which I felt immediately comfortable.
“I know how important this opportunity is and I will always give my best to improve myself, day after day, with the only goal of getting the best possible results. I say it again: thank you for the trust.
"Thinking about the history of this team, where great champions have always raced, I feel proud to be able to defend the same colours.
“Also, I am very happy to be able to share the box with Alvaro Bautista. Having him as a teammate will be a big plus: I will try to absorb every information I can learn from him.”
Bulega replaces Michael Ruben Rinaldi in the official Ducati squad, the Italian exiting the team after three seasons on the Ducati Panigale V4.
Ducati is the second manufacturer to confirm its full rider line-up for 2024, following on from the announcement that Jonathan Rea will exit Kawasaki to join Yamaha alongside Andrea Locatelli.
