Bulega: “You have to live with pressure to become a good rider”

Bulega will have big shoes to fill in 2024 after taking over from Michael Ruben Rinaldi, the only WorldSBK rider outside of the ‘Titanic trio’ to win races over the last two seasons. 

With Rinaldi now at Motocorsa, Bulega stepping into the factory Ducati team means he will have the best bike on the grid at his disposal. 

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That alone will bring pressure, but so will partnering two-time champion Alvaro Bautista who dominated the last two seasons.

Speaking about pressure and how to overcome it, Bulega told WorldSBK.com: “If you want to become a good rider you need to live with pressure. 

“It is something we have everyday in our sport. It’s normal as a rider to have pressure. I don’t care about pressure. 

“For sure, I have to learn a lot from Alvaro because he is the guy that right now is the fastest with the Ducati. I will have to learn a lot from him and then we will see.”

Bulega comes into WorldSBK as the current Supersport champion, something Andrea Locatelli and Dominique Aegerter have done since 2021.  

Like Bautista, Bulega proved impossible to live with over the course of the campaign and will be hoping to use his Supersport experience to adapt quickly to the Panigale V4 R.

A completely different machine to the V2 he rode over the last two years, Bulega was keen not to put a goal for the 2024 season-opener at Phillip Island.

Bulega added: “Difficult. We are a bit far from where I want to arrive at the moment. I just need my time to adjust to the bike and if I can ride the V4 like I rode the V2 then I can be fast.”