Bulega tops Mugello MotoGP test on Ducati 850 prototype
NXTbets Pro | Published On: August 7, 2026
Bulega tops Mugello
Nicolò Bulega led the second and final day of a private two-day 850cc MotoGP test at Mugello, giving Ducati the headline result in Tuscany as teams kept working through the sport’s next major rules shift. Bulega put in 31 laps and logged a best time of 1:45.859 on Ducati’s future 850 prototype. Takaaki Nakagami followed 1.2 seconds back on the Honda 850, while Lorenzo Savadori took third for Aprilia with a 1:47.763. Dani Pedrosa finished behind Savadori on the KTM, and the session closed without any official lap times being released from the prototype tests.
Bulega’s pace put him at the center of the test, but the broader value came from how the new bikes stacked up across manufacturers. The Mugello run gave Ducati another data point on its next-generation machine and offered a clear comparison with Honda, Aprilia and KTM. The test also underlined how much work remains before the new technical era arrives. Teams treated the outing as a serious preparation step, with the paddock focused on the pace and behavior of the 850cc bikes rather than any public timing sheet.
Nakagami sets pace
Nakagami opened the test with the fastest lap on the first day, and he did it on the Honda 850. He broke the 1:48 barrier with a lap in the high 1:47s, a strong marker for the opening day of running. Honda, Ducati, Aprilia and KTM all had test riders on track at Mugello, and almost every manufacturer sent its test team to the circuit. Yamaha was the only one that stayed away. That gave the test a broad technical spread, with each factory gathering information on how its prototype responded to the first serious mileage of the new project.
The setting mattered because Mugello often gives teams a useful read on engine delivery, braking stability and corner exit speed. The private format also kept the focus on development. Riders could push lap time without the pressure of a race weekend, and the opening day showed that several manufacturers arrived with competitive pace. Nakagami’s early benchmark set the tone. Bulega then moved the bar higher on the final day, while Savadori and Pedrosa kept Aprilia and KTM in the mix. The lap chart may have stayed unofficial, but the order on track still offered a clear snapshot of where the prototypes stood.
VR46 looks ahead
VR46 team manager Pablo Nieto came away encouraged by what he heard about Ducati’s new bike. He said he was happy that the 850cc prototype was fast in Bulega’s private Mugello test and said Ducati is doing very good work on the new machine. Nieto also said the new era will matter for everyone in MotoGP, a view that fits the scale of the regulations change now driving the test program. For VR46, the development picture goes beyond one rider or one session. It ties into the team’s wider future plans and the equipment it will likely use when the new bikes arrive.
Nieto also pointed to Fabio di Giannantonio’s switch back to the older aero package at Silverstone after crashes with the new fairing. That comment added another layer to Ducati’s development work, with the team still balancing speed against stability as it experiments with new parts. Bulega’s name sits in that same conversation, too. He is expected to join Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team alongside Fermin Aldeguer in the future, which gives his Mugello pace extra weight inside the Ducati orbit. The test riders are scheduled to continue their work at Misano at the end of the month, where more mileage should bring a better picture of how far the 850cc project has come.
