When Fabio Di Giannantonio decided to undergo shoulder surgery after the Thai GP, Nicolò Bulega was speculated as one of the potential substitutes for the Malaysian and Barcelona GPs.
However, it wasn’t the World Superbike vice-champion who stepped in. In Sepang, Andrea Iannone took over, while Michele Pirro replaced Di Giannantonio at the Barcelona Charity GP.
Bulega is managed by Neox, and the director Alberto Martinelli explained to GPOne.com that it would have been too risky for him to step into MotoGP without any preparation:
– This year, there was a possibility for Nicolò to replace Di Giannantonio, but it would have been suicide for him. Iannone, on the other hand, certainly made the most of the opportunity, but it didn’t make sense for Nicolò to go to Sepang without any preparation.
