Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) collects another treble of trophies as the sun sets on what’s been a sweltering weekend of MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship action. The Italian phenom is not taking his foot off the gas as he continues to drive the point home that he deserves a MotoGP seat next season. Results like those he earned here in Alcaniz are the best argument he can make, as the factory Ducati rider now has an unprecedented, record-setting 18 grand slams this season.
“I had to lay it all on the table to get the win”
The Italian came out swinging on Saturday, nearly half a second clear of everyone else as his 1’46.836s Tissot Superpole session lap set a new circuit record. Race 1 saw Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) sail clear from lights out to win the race from Pole to flag, the 11th time he’s accomplished such a feat this season, tying Bautista’s record from 2019. Sunday morning’s Tissot Superpole Race was a much more hotly contested affair, falling back at one point to P5 after Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) cut inside of ‘Bulegas’ on Turn 5 of Lap 3. One of only two riders to select the harder compound, as the #11’s SC0 tyres heated up and came to their element, he methodically made his way back up the order. First, he got his revenge on ‘Balda’ on Lap 4, then picked off Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) on the back straight for P3 on the same lap. Two laps later, Bulega had closed the gap to the fight for P1 and kicked off a fight with his teammate Iker Lecuona for P1 that would last the remaining five laps. In the end, Bulega’s consistency paid dividends and sent him to the top step of the rostrum for the second time. Race 2 was a much tidier affair for the Italian, riding again with unrelenting pace to take his 12th win from pole to flag, and he, Lecuona and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) shared the podium in that sequential order for the sixth time.
On his Sunday at MotorLand Aragon, Bulega said: “I feel very good, it was very important to win here. I’m really happy because the weekend was difficult with these hot temperatures; it wasn’t easy to ride the bike and ride without mistakes. In any case, I’m happy thanks to my team, who worked hard as always, so I hope to continue with these performances. The Tissot Superpole Race was my hardest race this season. We put the harder tyre to have an advantage in the final laps, but it was a bit on the limit because the SCX tyre worked well for the other riders. I had to lay it all on the table to get the win. In the end, I did it, so I think it was a good decision.”
“It’s nice to be fast, but I don’t think winning every race will be possible”
The #11’s Race 2 triumph raises his WorldSBK win tally to 38 victories, placing him up to seventh all-time ahead of Tom Sykes. As the season continues, records continue to drop like flies as ‘Bulegas’ continues to push. With his race win streak now stretching to an unreal 22 consecutive victories, now at the midway point of the season, the question now becomes, what can any other rider do to stop the Italian from going undefeated in 2026?
On the chance of a perfect season and where his focus lies amid silly season rumours, Bulega said: “It’s difficult to know if I could win every race this season, not everything is under your control. For sure, we are working very well right now. We have an incredible relationship and are riding well at every track, even at some where my riding style doesn’t match the track. We can be fast anyway and are in a fantastic moment. Now with 22 victories, we don’t focus on the past; instead, we think about the next one. It’s nice to be fast, but I don’t think it’ll be possible. I had the opportunity to ride as a replacement for Alex Marquez in MotoGP at Balaton, but I decided to stay focused on WorldSBK. It’s not the moment to take any risk at the moment.”
Catch the Championship leader in his home round next time out at Misano, starting Friday, June 12th. Watch Live and OnDemand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 30% off!