The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship descended on the Cremona Circuit for Round 10 of the 2026 campaign. It was a historic visit to Italy as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) wrapped up the title with a trio of P2 finishes, while teammate Iker Lecuona romped to a first WorldSBK hat-trick. There were plenty of other highs to take from the EICMA Italian Round.
BULEGA CROWNED CHAMPION
There’s only one place to start and that’s with Bulega’s title-winning moment. It was, ironically in terms of results, his work weekend of the season with P2 in Tissot Superpole and three P2 finishes across the races, but for Bulega it will be his best. After the highs of his junior career, the trials and tribulations of Moto3 and Moto2 and then re-building his career first in WorldSSP and then WorldSBK, ‘Bulegas’ has gone full circle – as he’ll ride for VR46 Racing Team in MotoGP next year. Read more about Bulega’s redemption story HERE.
LECUONA’S MAIDEN HAT-TRICK
Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team). Jonathan Rea. Toprak Razgatlioglu. Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Bulega. And now, Lecuona. The #7 joins an exclusive club of riders who have claimed a hat-trick in WorldSBK, dominating the weekend from the first moments of Free Practice 1 to Race 2 as he added three more wins to his tally. A superb weekend for the Spanish rider who will hope to end the 2026 campaign with this form.
SURRA’S FIRST PODIUM
Rookie Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) has been catching the attention as he’s adapted to the Panigale V4 R machine after racing in WorldSSP and the Moto2 European Championship last season. He’s knocked on the door of the top five a lot from the Hungarian Round onwards, occasionally running in the rostrum spots, but his home round was different. He was fastest in FP3 and running in third in Race 1 before he crashed. No problem for the #67, who bounced back in the Tissot Superpole Race to claim his first World Superbike podium. He’s the tenth rider to stand on the rostrum this season.
HONDA BACK IN THE TOP SIX
Its’ been a challenging year for Honda, but Cremona showed a glimpse of what they could do. Despite a crash in Superpole forcing him to start Race 1 from 18th, Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) battled his way up to ninth. It was a similar story in the Superpole Race after he started from 17th after Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was declared unfit as the #96 finished in P9 again. That gave him a third row start for Race 2 and he used that to full advantage to claim sixth, his best result in WorldSBK and Honda’s best this year.
A ROLLERCOASTER FOR MONTELLA
Cremona was proving tricky for Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), and nothing showed that more than Friday and Saturday’s action. He crashed in FP1 at Turn 13, and again in FP2 at Turn 1, and appeared to be on the back foot. He then crashed twice more in Race 1, at Turn 13 and at Turn 10, before responding on Sunday. He battled with Surra for the podium in the Superpole Race, finishing fourth, and got the better of his fellow Italian in Race 2 to take a podium. In the battle for third, he’s 43 points clear of Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and 50 clear of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), so overall a good weekend for the #5 despite a tricky first two days.
A WEEKEND TO FORGET FOR PETRUCCI
It’s hard to believe that Petrucci’s best result at Cremona this year was P11 in the Superpole Race. Two years ago, ‘Petrux’ claimed his first victory in WorldSBK and completed the hat-trick. This year, the Italian – who’s already stated he’s not looking for options in WorldSBK next year – was 19th in Superpole before finishing in P14, P11 and P12. Teammate Miguel Oliveira was closer to the front than he had been in recent rounds, running as high as fifth in Race 2 before he crashed, and Petrucci would’ve hoped that he could’ve been higher up the order at a track he’s enjoyed in the past.
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