Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) is your 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Champion after finishing second in Race 2 at the Cremona Circuit. The Italian only needed a top five finish to secure the title in the final race of the EICMA Italian Round and he duly did so, Iker Lecuona becoming the fifth rider to take a WorldSBK hat-trick after winning Race 2. The podium was completed by Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team).

A NEW CHAMPION IS CROWNED

Three starts at Cremona for Lecuona, three great starts for the #7 as he grabbed the holeshot from pole while Bulega had to resist an early charge from Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) across the first sector. The two factory Ducati riders soon settled down in first down and second with around half a second between the pair. Lecuona kept eking out the gap, with it reaching the one second mark at the end of Lap 6 as the #7 tightened his grip on victory. From there, Lecuona was able to control the race, extending his lead to over four seconds by Lap 16, to secure his first WorldSBK hat-trick, joining Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team), Jonathan Rea, Toprak Razgatlioglu, Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Bulega. However, second place for ‘Bulegas’ ensured he was crowned the 2026 WorldSBK Champion, winning the title with six races to spare. You can read more about his title success HERE.

PODIUM SCRAPS, BROTHERLY BATTLES, DIXON IMPRESSES

On Lap 3, Montella got ahead of Surra at Turn 11 to move into third place as the pair renewed their battle from the Tissot Superpole Race. While the #5 held position, Surra did not let his fellow Italian escape as he tailed him through the first half of the race. However, the gap extended to around a second at the halfway point of the 23-lap race, with Montella coming home in third and Surra in fourth; capping off a superb weekend for the #67 after he took his maiden podium in the Superpole Race. The fight for fifth was between brothers Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), with the #14 attempting to pass the #22 at Turn 13 around halfway through the race before immediately sliding out at the final corner; he did re-join the race at the back of the field, although he retired a few laps later. Sam Lowes' crash promoted Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) into the top six, with the #96 securing three top nine finishes at Cremona and taking Honda’s first top six finish since Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was fifth in Race 2 at Jerez last year.

‘BALDA’ BATTLES BACK

On Lap 19, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) made a move on Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) as the duo renewed their rivalry after crashing in the Tissot Superpole Race; ironically, ‘Balda’ made the move at Turn 7, the corner they fell at on Sunday morning. That secured Baldassarri seventh ahead of Gerloff in eighth, while Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) ended his home round in ninth after Baldassarri overtook him at Turn 11 on Lap 17.

ITALIANS BATTLE IT OUT

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) came home in tenth place, around five seconds behind ‘El Bocia’, while he had to fend off Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) on the final lap, with just four tenths between the pair. Petrucci rounded out a challenging weekend in 12^th ahead of Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC), who equalled his best WorldSBK result with P13. Loris Baz (MGM Optical Express Racing) rounded out his comeback weekend with two more points with 14^th, ahead of Mattia Rato (Motoxracing WorldSBK Team). His teammate, Twan Smits, was the final classified rider in 16^th.

RETIRING FROM RACE 2

Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) was forced out of the race with a technical issue in the early stages of Race 2, while Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had jumped up to fifth before he crashed at Turn 10 on Lap 2. On Lap 5, Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) crashed at Turn 10. At the end of Lap 17, Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) came off his Yamaha R1 machine at Turn 13, ending his hopes of scoring points.

The top six from WorldSBK Race 2, full results here:

1. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +8.590s
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +12.724s
4. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) +13.914s
5. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +17.159s
6. Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) +20.917s
   Fastest Lap – Iker Lecuona (Ducati) – 1’28.122s

Championship standings

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 602 points
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 133
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 333
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 376
5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) 383
6. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) 409

Congratulate Bulega on his title with the hashtag #Bu1egacy, rewatch the best moments of 2026 and get set for Estoril with the WorldSBK VideoPass – now 70% off!