It’s been a record-breaking 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign and it could be a pivotal Acerbis French Round this weekend. The title in WorldSBK could be wrapped up at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours while there’s plenty of other titles and awards on the line…
HOW CAN BULEGA WIN IT IN FRANCE?
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) heads into the French Round with a 133-point lead over teammate Iker Lecuona, meaning he could wrap it up but only in Sunday’s Race 2. ‘Bulegas’ needs to leave France with a 186-point lead over the #7 to have it secured this weekend, meaning he needs to outscore his teammate by 53 points. To counter that, Lecuona needs 10 points across the weekend to keep it going to Cremona. Bulega can also win this year’s Tissot Superpole Award. Points are awarded in both the Tissot Superpole session and the Tissot Superpole Race, and the #11 wraps it up in the former if he outscores Lecuona by two points.
INDEPENDENT TEAMS’ BATTLE
It’s possible for the Independent Teams’ title to be won in Race 2 at Magny-Cours as well. The Barni Spark Racing Team, courtesy of Yari Montella and Alvaro Bautista, have a 141-point lead over the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team, who only run Sam Lowes. To win the title, Barni Ducati need to outscore Marc VDS Ducati by 46 points and GoEleven Ducati by 14 points, and Yamaha Motoxracing Racing by 22 points.
WORLD SPORTBIKE TITLES
The Riders’ title in World Sportbike cannot be won in France, but the Manufacturers’ and Teams’ Championships can be. In the former, Kawasaki have a 70-point lead over Triumph, and the Japanese manufacturer can wrap it up only in Race 2. They will need to outscore, across both races, Triumph by 30 points, Suzuki by 21 points, Aprilia by 13 points and lose, at most, 12 points to Yamaha. The Teams’ Championship can also be won. ProDina Kawasaki currently lead MTM Kawasaki by 102 points. It can only be won in Race 2, if they outscore MTM Kawasaki by 78 or 79 points, Track & Trades Wixx Racing by 77 or 78 points, CM Triumph by 20 or 21 points and Team BrCorse by 9 or 10 points; the exact amounts depend on the results of Race 1 and the subsequent tiebreaks in the event that teams could potentially end up level on points.
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