The EICMA Italian Round saw a new MOTUL FIM Superbike World Champion crowned, but Nicolo Bulega's (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) coronation wasn’t the only highlight of the round. Record highs, maiden achievements and a long-awaited return to form marked Round 10 as one not soon forgotten for several of the field’s riders and the fans in attendance at Cremona circuit.
DIXON FINDING HIS RHYTHM
Suffering from preseason injuries and largely washing out what was a highly anticipated debut 2026 campaign for their new pair of riders, Honda HRC looks to finding their footing with Jake Dixon (Honda HRC). The Englishman is back to 100%, and despite a poor P18 Tissot Superpole result after suffering a crash early in the session at Turn 10, the Brit battled back up the grid in Race 1 to tie his all-time best WorldSBK placement. He kept the hammer down on Sunday, taking another P9 for his first Superpole Race point and even ended the round on a hight note with a new career-best P6, arriving as Honda’s best result of the season and their best since Jerez last year.
FARIOLI HITTING HIS SOPHOMORE STRIDE
Italian rider Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing) has quietly been putting the pieces together atop his Yamaha R9 in WorldSSP over the last two rounds. Magny-Cours was his first round in the class finishing both races in the top ten, and at Cremona he took a big leap forward, taking his first front-row start in a Superpole session, as well as his first podium in Race 1. While he couldn’t quite stick the landing on the rostrum in Race 2, P4 still would have stood as his best WorldSSP result had he not placed on the podium in Race 1 and look for the Italian to join the fight amongst the top Yamahas for the final two rounds.
FLEERACKERS BACK IN THE FIGHT AT THE FRONT
World Sportbike featured several riders performing above their habitual places as they battled it out at Cremona. Making his return to the podium places for the firs time since their second round of the season, Belgian rider Ferre Fleerackers (Track & Trades Wixx Racing) snagged a spot on the rostrum with his P3 effort to close the round in Race 2. The Suzuki GSX-8R landed strong results early in the season, but they haven’t been rolling in the same way for Fleerackers or his teammate Jeffrey Buis as of late. Look for the pair to throw the kitchen sink at these final two rounds in order to put a feather in their cap over the offseason. Alvaro Fuertes (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team) has been poking his head out up at the front as of late this season, and Cremona was his most impressive showing yet. He matched his best Superpole qualification however was later penalised by FIM WorldSBK Stewards down to a P13 start due to Slow Riding. Undeterred, he landed his season’s second-best result in Race 1 of P6. Sunday saw even more success, as he took P4 just 0.149s slower than Fleerackers who took the bronze medal.
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