Bulega escapes serious injury after Ducati crash at Mugello
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 17, 2026
Bulega crash details
Nicolo Bulega escaped serious injury after a violent highside during testing on Ducati’s 850cc MotoGP bike at Mugello, where the crash came around midday and sent him to a nearby hospital for checks. The impact came at the Arrabbiata 2 corner, and the day could have turned far worse. Instead, hospital checks found no fractures, and Bulega was discharged after the examination.
Bulega said he was fine except for “a bump,” a brief assessment that matched the medical report and offered the clearest sign he avoided a major setback. He also thanked fans for their messages after the crash, a small but telling acknowledgment from a rider dealing with the immediate aftermath. The incident came during Ducati’s development work, with Bulega involved in the brand’s testing plans.
Bulega Ducati plans
The crash interrupted a schedule that already pointed to a busy run of duties for Bulega. He had been expected to test Ducati’s 850cc bike at the Red Bull Ring and take part in the post-Austrian Grand Prix Pirelli tire test. He was also set to work there alongside Marc Márquez and Fermín Aldeguer, which would have marked the first time the three riders shared Ducati’s 850cc bike in testing.
Bulega was still set to travel to the Red Bull Ring on Saturday evening despite the Mugello fall. The next WorldSBK round at Cremona made his participation in the tire test look unlikely, leaving Ducati to wait on whether he could take part as planned. The episode underlined how quickly one testing crash can disrupt a rider’s workload when a manufacturer is trying to gather mileage across multiple programs and riders. It also showed how closely Bulega’s schedule links him with Márquez and Aldeguer as Ducati develops the new 850cc bike.
Bulega WorldSBK future
Bulega arrived at Mugello as the Superbike World Championship leader, a position that gives his current season real weight even as Ducati looks ahead to its next MotoGP phase. He led teammate Iker Lecuona by 146 points with three rounds left, which kept him in control of the title fight even after the crash. The setback did not change the broader picture around his career path, only the short-term uncertainty around his test work.
His long-term move remains tied to Ducati’s new 850cc era. Bulega is still scheduled to make his full-time MotoGP debut with VR46, and he is expected to move from WorldSBK to MotoGP with VR46 and Fermín Aldeguer as that program develops. That future adds context to the Mugello crash, because his testing role now sits between a WorldSBK title chase and a bigger switch to premier-class racing. For now, the key result from the day was that he walked away without fractures and was cleared to leave the hospital. The rest of the story is about timing, planning and what comes next for a rider who remains central to Ducati’s plans in both championship lanes.
