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The season is over, the riders are enjoying their well-deserved relaxation, and so there are the managers to capture the attention during this winter break. In fact, on the occasion of the Monza Rally we caught up with Alberto Martinelli.
The Neox company he heads looks after the interests of several riders and sportsmen including Tony Cairoli, Dani Pedrosa, Sofia Goggia, Daniel Holgado, Matteo Ferrari, Schiavone, and of course Nicolò Bulega, the revelation of the 2024 World SBK Championship.
With Alberto we had a long chat about the Championship just concluded by Nicolò between curiosities and behind the scenes.
"I think Nicolò's was a great season and the same goes for Holgado in Moto3 - he told us - Bulega's 2024 turned out to be incredible and doing more than what I think was impossible in front of a great Toprak with the BMW. We are in fact all excited and I am of the idea that in 2025 he can further raise the bar."
Alberto, do you remember the very first meeting with Nicolo?
"Of course! The first meeting was at the restaurant with the presence of his father Davide. He was still a little boy, very young, sitting at the table in silence and listening. Over time then a good relationship was created between us and we mapped out a path together to follow."
Why did you choose Bulega when you already had a rider like Tony Cairoli in house?
"Inside me there was a rational part and an instinctive part. The first one was telling me that it was not acceptable for a rider like him to be lost on the road, even considering the initial results. In fact, let's not forget that Valentino Rossi himself chose him in the Academy. The second is the human aspect, in fact I always nurtured the idea that Bulega deserved a second chance to try again. Often these alchemies fail, but with him it went well, in fact we got where you can all see. Obviously the SSP World Championship was the last chance after Moto2, because then there would be nothing more."
Eventually you managed to get him to the factory team, but it wasn't that easy.
"Ducati thought that bringing him to the factory team would mean loading him with extra pressure and expectations. I, on the other hand, had a completely opposite idea from them. I understand their reasoning, but not giving him the factory bike would have been wrong because he is young, he is Italian, he is talented and he even won the title, plus pressures are part of this world. It certainly was not an easy negotiation, since when the deal materialized it was the summer of 2023 and Bulega had not yet won the World Championship. That choice, however, gave him additional peace of mind, and in my opinion it was the natural path."
Now there is to discuss the contract for 2026....
"Our priority is to stay with Ducati, given what we have done over the years and the bond that has been established with the Aruba family and the team. However, we need to find an agreement because Nicolò has shown his potential and his value must be aligned with the market."
Have any requests already been received from other manufacturers?
"At the moment no, in fact I don't want to say the wrong things. However, I think Nicolò's value should be aligned with that of the current market."
Taking a step back in time, what was the most difficult moment in his career?
"The second year in Moto2 was the most difficult moment: the results were not coming, plus he suffered having Di Giannantonio as a teammate and all this made the path complicated. As if that weren't enough in the paddock, there was no alternative solution, but fortunately came the opportunity with Aruba in SuperSport."
Looking instead to the future: in 2025 testing with MotoGP?
"This is something I would love to do and Nicolò would like to do it as well, in fact I don't deny it. This year the possibility of replacing Di Giannantonio had emerged, but it would have been suicide for him. Iannone, on the other hand, certainly did well to take advantage of the opportunity, but it made no sense for Nicolò to go to Sepang unprepared. Doing a test with MotoGP in 2025 is a nice opportunity and we will push hard with Ducati to do it, but with the right conditions."
Then a wildcard...
"We are of the idea that he can be really be strong on a MotoGP bike and and who knows, in 2027 maybe we will join up with Toprak (smiles). Of course, let's not forget that there are great champions to contend with, but since there will be the rule change in 2027 and the cards will be reshuffled, that is a possibility that needs to be thought about and evaluated."
