Pol Espargaró has been competing this weekend in the Austrian GP, replacing Maverick Viñales. But beyond that work, the Spaniard continues to act as a development rider for KTM, and working with the Austrians on the evolution of the 850.
Within the framework of the Grand Prix, Pol spoke to the media present about a situation, which may have been overlooked by many, but which has the Spaniard with the fly in his ear. Nicolo Bulega will compete in the MotoGP World Championship in 2027 and will be one of the “rookies” of the season, despite the fact that in 2025 he competed replacing a then injured Marc Márquez.
But what worries Pol or, in his own words, even seems unfair, is that Bulega is being an active part of the development of next season’s MotoGP, and also of the tires. This situation, according to Espargaró himself, creates an advantage over rivals because, in addition, he will have favorable treatment like all debutants in the category have, and will be able to participate in the preseason “Shakedown” prior to the official tests.
It is a matter that, according to Pol’s words, bothers him enough, so much so that he can speak in the following terms: “It’s crazy, absolutely. And I would say it’s also unfair, because he will be the starting rider next year. And the amount of kilometers he is doing on the new bike… It will be perfect for him. He will know the bike and the tires perfectly. He will have two extra days of testing, at the Sepang Shakedown… So the amount of experience and speed he will have will be incredible.”
Pol Espargaró compares his situation with that of Bulega
But there is more, because as is evident if in general it will be an advantage for the Italian on the grid in general, in the case of debut drivers the jump will be even greater: “It also seems unfair to me in the case of the riders who will go from Moto2 to MotoGP compared to the riders from the premier class who will stay. But simply, if I myself had to race in 2027, I would have a great advantage over the others. Imagine Bulega, who comes from a championship in which the bike, the SBK, is quite similar to next year’s MotoGP. And with his experience and doing so many tests… I think he will crush everyone.”
He sets himself as an example and then, in fact, he demonstrated it by being the second fastest driver in FP1: “I’ll make a comparison. Do you remember how strong he was last year in the places where he was a wild card? He arrived on Friday and dominated. I have been second in FP1 here in Austria. Thanks to the tests. He easily went to Q2, I would say, in every circuit in which he had already ridden. And that was with the 1000 cc bike, and everyone knows this bike. So imagine going to places where Bulega has already ridden, where he will have all the information, which will be a lot like Mugello, Jerez, Misano…”.
Without a doubt, Espargaró has directly pointed out an issue that, until now, he had tiptoed around but that, without a doubt, will be an advantage for a Bulega team that is also in its best sporting moment. Therefore, it is expected that he will be an important asset next season. How far? We will only see that when the races start, but it surely will not go unnoticed.
