Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) claimed victory in the Tissot Superpole Race for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship ahead of teammate Iker Lecuona as he closes in on the 2026 title. The #11 was made to work hard for the win at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in the early stages, while there was drama in the battle for the podium during the Acerbis French Round.
BULEGA VS LECUONA, LATE PODIUM DRAMA
As in Race 1, Bulega got the holeshot when the lights went out for the 10-lap race, with Lecuona getting ahead of Sam Lowes. Then, at Turn 5, the #7 made his way past Bulega to take the lead of the race. On Lap 3, the #11 got his revenge at the same corner as he outbraked Lecuona to re-take P1. A lap later and Lecuona attempted a late lunge on Bulega, but he went wide, which then left him vulnerable to Sam Lowes who moved into P2; Lecuona was able to respond a few corners later. That gave Bulega a lead of more than 1.5 seconds over Lecuona, with the #11 going on to control the race for his 25th win of the season; two behind the all-time record of 27. Lecuona came home in P2, his 21st second-place finish of the year, the highest value in one season, but Sam Lowes crashed out of the race on the final lap at Turn 3; that promoted Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) onto the podium. The #14 was taken to the medical centre following the crash and is due to start Race 2 from P10.
SURRA MATCHES HIS BEST, BRIDEWELL BOUNCES BACK
Montella was originally fighting for P4 with rookie Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing), with the #5 passing the Italian at Turn 13 to get ahead of his compatriot. Surra’s P4 finish is his joint-best finish of the campaign. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) crossed the line in P5 with Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) bouncing back from his big Race 1 crash to take sixth; one place shy of his WorldSBK best.
YAMAHA DUEL FOR P8
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) had an up-and-down race. Initially, ‘Balda’ was running outside the top ten, but he battled his way into seventh place to take a third-row start in Race 2. Behind him, it was a three-way Yamaha scrap for P8. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crossed the line in eighth after an aggressive move on Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) at the final chicane. That left Vierge vulnerable to teammate Andrea Locatelli behind, but the #55 fell just 0.029s from securing a top-nine finish.
The top nine from the Tissot Superpole Race, full results here:
- Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
- Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +2.073s
- Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +5.400s
- Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) +6.773s
- Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +7.325s
- Tommy Bridewell (Superbikes Advocates) +10.269s
- Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) +12.775s
- Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +14.518s
- Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +14.891s
Fastest Lap: Nicolo Bulega (Ducati) – 1’34.750s, new lap record
Watch Race 2 from Magny-Cours at 14:00 Local Time (UTC+2) using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now 70% off!