The second half of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is well underway and now is a good chance to take a look at the state of play in the various titles up for grabs in 2026 in WorldSBK. It’s possible that the Prosecco DOC UK Round is the moment where two titles are decided in this historic campaign.
BULEGA IN CONTROL IN THE RIDERS’ TITLE
Perhaps it comes as no surprise that Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) leads the way in the Riders’ Championship having won every race so far in 2026. He’s taken 434 points out of a possible 434 and leads teammate Iker Lecuona by 121 points after seven rounds of 2026. If Bulega keeps on winning, he could be crowned Champion at Cremona – although this, of course, makes a lot of assumptions.
DUCATI’S DONINGTON DESTINY?
It’s perhaps a bit ironic that a circuit Ducati have struggled with in recent years – Donington Park – could be the circuit they win both the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ title. In the former, Ducati have maximum points, all from Bulega, and they lead Bimota by 242 points. They can win it in the Tissot Superpole Race by outscoring Bimota by 31 points across Race 1 and the Superpole Race, or in Race 2 if they outscore Bimota by six points across the entire weekend.
TEAMS’ TITLE PERMUTATIONS
In the Teams’ Championship, Bulega and Lecuona have contributed to a 747-point haul for Aruba.it Racing – Ducati and they led the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team outfit by 463 points as it stands. Should they outscore their nearest rivals by 26 points over Race 1 and the Superpole Race in the UK, and the Barni Spark Racing Team by 11 points, they’ll win the title then. If it’s not the Superpole Race, it can be won in Race 2 – in this case, the factory Ducati outfit can afford to lose up to 19 points to the factory Bimota squad and 34 points to Barni Ducati across all three races.
INDEPENDENT HONOURS
Nothing can be decided in the fight for Independent Rider honours at Donington, but it’s worth looking at the current situation. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) currently has 170 points, 22 points more than Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team). Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) sits third on 123 points. In the Independent Teams’ standings, Barni Ducati’s two-bike effort of Montella and Alvaro Bautista has scored 269 points, with Marc VDS Ducati second on 148 points.
THE FIGHT FOR TOP ROOKIE
It’s not an official award, but it’s always good to take a look at how this year’s rookie crop is doing. There are some high-profile rookies this year, including five-time MotoGP winner Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who has four rostrums to his name – the most of any rookie this season. He has, however, missed a couple of rounds through injury which has hurt his points tally; he has scored 97 points in 2026, two more than Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing). It’s worth noting that five of this year’s rookies have scored points, with only Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) missing out; the Brit has only completed one race for Honda HRC, when he made his comeback from injury, but withdrew from Sunday’s Aragon action as his wrist continued to cause him grief.
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