The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship visited Italy and the iconic Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli” for Round 7 of the 2026 season at the weekend. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) wowed the home fans at the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round as he claimed a hat-trick, but there were other stories brewing.
“I’M FRUSTRATED BECAUSE I WAS FAR FROM MY TEAMMATE”
Reflecting on another trio of P2 finishes, Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) said on Sunday: “I don’t want to say I’m not happy with the second because, in the end, it was very positive for the team. I’m frustrated with myself, with my riding, and my potential I want to say. We never change the bike like that, but we completely changed it on Sunday morning. The reality is now with the heat, the SCX and the wind, I think I went wide at Turns 11 and 13. One time, I went very wide at Turn 13, so I just managed the gap to the guys behind me and didn’t think about Nicolo. I’m frustrated because I was far from my teammate. Overall, I understand that Nicolo almost created that bike. He rode it from the beginning. It’s his fifth year with Ducati bikes, third year in WorldSBK. When I get closer, he finds something more, and I’m further away again. I’m not happy here, not for the position, but I’m frustrated just because I’m not at the level I expected. I can’t find the two tenths that he makes and that’s why I’m frustrated. Honestly, I don’t know if he’ll go to MotoGP or not. I said a few times that if he goes to MotoGP, I’ll be really happy for him and he’ll deserve it. On the other side, I’d prefer that he stayed here; not for him, but for me. If he stayed here, I can push myself more and I can learn.”
“IT’S INCREDIBLE TO GET A HAT-TRICK HERE AT MISANO, IN FRONT OF MY FANS AND THE DUCATI FANS”
A seventh hat-trick of the year for Bulega, who stated: “It’s incredible, I’m very happy; more than normal, because this is my home round. It’s incredible to get a hat-trick here at Misano, in front of my fans and the Ducati fans. It was a fantastic weekend. I was able to push from FP1 as I wanted. We didn’t change anything special, just some little things with the settings. I liked the bike on Saturday, but a bit more on Sunday in some areas. If you win, it’s always fantastic. Last year, maybe I had more battles, especially with Toprak; not here at Misano, but at other circuits. If I have to be honest, if you win, it doesn’t matter if you win by one metre or 100. The important thing is to win.”
“I STRUGGLED WITH THE FRONT… AT TURN 8, THE BIKE WAS PUSHING TOO MUCH IN THE LAST PART OF BRAKING”
On course for a podium, but crashing out of P3, Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) said: “It’s part of racing, it can be quite good, it can be not good. I think we have to be really happy about the work we’ve done. All weekend, we were in the top four. In the Superpole Race, we were having a good race and in Race 2, we were doing something special. I crashed at Turn 8 because I was trying to stay consistent and control the gap to me and Yari. I lost the front, it’s part of the game. I struggled with the front all race. I tried to control it but at Turn 8, the bike was pushing too much in the last part of the braking, and this happened. We have to be really proud and happy about the work we did. When you lose a podium, it’s always difficult to accept. Especially when it’s at the end of the race, but you have to try to think about the positive things.”
“I’M SO SORRY FOR AXEL, BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO CRASH AT HOME WHEN FIGHTING FOR THE PODIUM”
Three P3 finishes on home soil for Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), who said: “I’m a bit tired! I was a bit f****d at the start, I was overtaken by Axel because he covered the line, and then I had contact with Alex Lowes. It changed my race from managing the position, trying to control it, it was now about recovering it. I tried to catch Axel, but in the end, when I was in his slipstream, my tyre temperature was high. It was impossible for me to try to overtake him. I was mentally ready to finish third, but if I wanted to do that, I had to push all race. I was close to him, trying to put pressure on him. I tried to make him make a mistake. I don’t know if it worked or if it was just lucky! I’m so sorry for him, because I know what it means to crash at a home race when fighting for the podium. Three podiums at home were not in the plan. I don’t have pressure to be the top rider at the team.”
“HE HAD HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY HERE… IT WOULD’VE BEEN NICE TO SEE AXEL ON THE PODIUM”
P4 in Race 2 for Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), who said: “It was a good day. Sunday morning was a shame as I felt good in that race, with the SCQ tyre. This weekend, it seemed to really help with the balance of the bike. It was one of those things, a shame to lose the fourth place. Race 2 was quite good. I got a good start from tenth. In the race, I was struggling to stop the bike. We made changes because of the issue in the morning, so the bike was working a bit different. After 10 or 11 laps, I had a track limits warning quite early in the race, so I had to ride a little bit steady. Solid result. It was a shame for Axel; he deserved a podium for how he’s ridden this weekend. We’re at the limit, but it’s a shame. It was a busy weekend; it’s why I was gutted for Axel. We had lots of people here, he had his friends and family here, and to be performing well all weekend, it would’ve been nice to see him on the podium.”
“THIS TIME LAST YEAR WAS PROBABLY THE LOWEST POINT OF MY CAREER… A YEAR ON, I GOT MY BEST DRY RESULT”
A best dry-weather result for Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) with P5 in Race 2, who said: “To be top five, with a bit of luck with Bassani but sometimes it’s just like that, and either way, a solid top six was good. I made a step at Most in Warm Up, and then I crashed in the last race there. When I got here for the test, I was competitive. Normally I’m around P9-P12, but at the test, on a race tyre or SCQ tyre, I was maybe P5, P6, P7. I don’t know why I just made a step here! I left the test quite good, and I arrived here on Friday thinking I’d roll out of pitlane with the same bike. It was completely different, so we had to chop and change, it was hard work during the weekend just to get back to where I was. Donington is a track I’ve ridden a lot. I grew up 10 minutes away; you could hear bikes and cars from my house. This time last year was probably the lowest point of my career; I believed I was capable of achieving better results than I was. I qualified last here last year. I crashed while riding around at the back, and then ultimately thought it wasn’t right and needed to stop. A year on, I got the best dry result; I think if you’d told me that last year, I just would’ve laughed!”
“I USUALLY NEVER QUIT FOR ANY REASON, BUT MAYBE IT WAS THE GOOD THING TO DO”
Speaking after he pulled into the pits in Race 2, Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) said: “On Saturday, it was quite an achievement that I did all 21 laps, even at an easier pace. On Sunday, I woke up super sore and I had so much pain, I had to stop in Warm Up as I couldn’t do the last two laps. In the Superpole Race, we worked it out a little bit, and I could manage to do the 10 laps; not at 100%, pushing every lap, but I could take a decent position. In Race 2, I realised pretty quickly I was more in a Warm Up situation than actually racing. I was close to the guys, but I wasn’t in control, already rolling off a bit, trying to take care. That’s no way to go racing. I usually never quit for any reason, but it was maybe the good thing to do. The team were mega. They were supporting me throughout every stage of the recovery, but they also put no expectations on me when I came back. I think we still gathered some good data. We did a couple of things that can take us in a direction or another with the setup.”
“I HAVE A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH BONUCCI. HE’S A CHAMPION, I LIKE HIS MENTALITY”
Speaking about his relationship with eight-time Serie A winner and Euro 2020 champion Leonardo Bonucci, who was at Misano, Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) said: “It was a very hot weekend, but I’m really happy for these results. I had a little problem in the smaller corners with the grip, but I’m working with the team to get another good result at Misano. I have a good relationship with Leo Bonucci. I know him from Turin, my city. He has a very good mentality, he’s a Champion, and I like his mentality.”
“WE DECIDED TO SKIP MISANO AND FOCUS ON THE NEXT ROUND; MAYBE AT DONINGTON, I’LL BE 100%”
Providing an injury update on Friday, Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) said: “I’m doing well. It was a big crash, one of the worst of my career; especially for the pain. I landed on my back and right leg, then I tumbled a lot. I had multiple injuries, but not big ones; but two small fractures, some ligament and muscle damage especially on the left leg. I had two big bruises, so they had to cut and remove the blood. I felt really weak after the first 10 days, I couldn’t move or sleep. In the last 10 days, I tried to work as hard as I could to be fit for this race. I’m still not bending my knees completely, so we decided to skip Misano and focus on the next round; maybe at Donington, I’ll be 100% for the round.”
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