'Valentino Rossi prodigies set for remarkable MotoGP-WorldSBK swap'

Valentino Rossi’s eponymous VR46 Racing are one of the few teams yet to have announced their 2027 rider line-up.

Paddock sources have long suggested that Fermin Aldeguer is a shoo-in for one of the seats, with the second going to an Italian.

Fabio Di Giannantonio has already confirmed his departure to KTM, while fellow VR46 Academy rider Franco Morbidelli is seemingly at a loose end.

However, the latest news on his future suggests a solution is just around the corner.

Leading outlet Speedweek has reported what we long expected, that Morbidelli will swap seats with impending World Superbike champion Nicolo Bulega.

The 2017 Moto2 champion and 2020 MotoGP runner-up is enduring a hellish season on his satellite Ducati, even self-deprecatingly joking: “Maybe I’ve forgotten how to ride a bike.”

Yet he’s won the battle for the best bike in WSBK, Bulega’s Aruba.it Ducati, beating Manuel Gonzalez to the seat, leaving the Moto2 championship leader to face another year in the middleweight class.

However, in a clear signal of doubts around the 31-year-old, he looks set to only put pen to paper on a one-year deal with the option of a second, should Ducati not be impressed with his switch to the series.

Nevertheless, he’ll be jumping on one of the most dominant machines in any form of motorsport, with Ducati winning all 24 races so far this season in WorldSBK.

Even more incredibly, Bulega has won all but one of those events, giving him a strong claim to being the best rider outside MotoGP.

Yet Speedweek’s report adds more intrigue, as they claim VR46 were actually keen to promote their academy rider Celestino Vietti to race alongside Aldeguer next season.

That could still come to fruition should Morbidelli or Bulega not fulfil expectations in 2027, but there’s precedent to suggest that the move should work out.

Bulega himself is a former VR46 Academy rider who couldn’t find a place in MotoGP, only to switch to WorldSBK and see his career revitalised.

Meanwhile, the likes of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Iker Lecuona are proving that the bridge from Superbikes to MotoGP is no longer as difficult as it was once perceived.

Morbidelli’s best result of the season was third in the Jerez sprint, where he gave an emotional speech about resilience afterwards.

But with teammate Di Giannantonio showing race-winning pace, albeit on a factory-spec bike, Morbidelli’s 16th-place in the riders’ championship isn’t enough to keep him on the grid.

Speaking after a particularly poor Czech Grand Prix, he opened up on his current situation.

"I didn't have any performance at all,” he said. “I didn't have any grip at all. I've been struggling a lot with grip since the beginning of the year.

He added: "In Barcelona, I was on the front row. Then at Mugello, I had an unbelievable pace. A really good pace throughout Friday, throughout Saturday... until the races.

Asked about possibly leaving the sport, he added: "Listen, I live with pressure. I've been racing since I was seven.