Next year will see Nicolò Bulega make his Moto3™ World Championship debut at just 16 years of age, having already won a world title.

In 2016 the Moto3™ World Championship will welcome the usual group of up and coming young talent taking their first steps onto the world stage. Among these ambitious young riders will be one already boasting a World Championship: Nicolò Bulega.

The 16 year old from Romagna won the FIM CEV Repsol Moto3™ Junior World Championship in the last round of the year in Valencia. Bulega battled hard through a season full of ups and downs to beat the best junior riders from around the world.

He was the only rider to always finish inside the points, never failing to score and claiming seven podium finishes out of 12 events. A victory in Jerez was the icing on the cake. At the end of the two races in Valencia, ‘Bulegas’ secured the top spot in the championship with 189 points, four more than his Spanish rivals Albert Arena, Aron Canet and Joan Mir, the latter two moving to the 2016 Moto3™ World Championship alongside the Italian.

Born in Montecchio Emilia but living in San Clemente, near Rimini, Nicolò is the son of Davide Bulega, an Italian and European champion in the 90s. At an early age Bulega discovered the world of two wheels and would not leave. At the age of 11 his destiny reached a turning point, taking a title in every season since. In 2011 he became the Italian and European Mini50GP champion and followed that with a 125 PreGP title in 2012 and a 250 PreGP crown in 2013.

He then moved to the FIM CEV Repsol the following year with Team Calvo as part of the VR46 Riders Academy. Until this point Bulega had always run with the number 11, but was now allowed to run the infamous 46. Valentino Rossi personally granted Bulega the ability to run his number, Bulega the only rider in the Academy to run the same digits as The Doctor.

Many saw the great potential in Buelga, but the 2015 season saw his talent explode and many more began to notice. Now with the Moto3™ Junior World Championship on his CV he prepares to take on the world in the SKY Racing VR46 squad. Bulega will complete the all Italian trident of Romano Fenati and Andrea Migno in the VR46 backed squad.

The first taste of the official KTM machine came already in Valencia when the talented Italian entered as a wildcard for the last round of the season. Bulega impressed during Free Practice and was able to end his first race on the World Stage in 12th, claiming four points. Pablo Nieto will have a lot of potential inside his box in 2016.