Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) continues to make MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship history with victory in Race 2 of the Tissot Estoril Round. The #11 beat teammate Iker Lecuona by just under five seconds for his latest win, while there was late podium drama at the Circuito Estoril. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) completed a hat-trick of P3 finishes in Portugal after a late crash for Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team).

MORE RECORDS FOR BULEGA

On the opening lap, Lecuona took the lead of the race, but Bulega made an aggressive move at Turn 6 on Lap 1 to reclaim the lead of the race before immediately starting to build a gap over his teammate. Although Lecuona initially stayed within half-a-second of his teammate, a 1’34.696s enabled ‘Bulegas’ to build a gap over his teammate in the first half of the race as he went on to secure a 29^th victory of the season, and it also means the 25 points he gained put his 2026 tally to 664 points – the highest tally in a single season, beating Jonathan Rea's 2019 tally of 663 with three races to go. He also has 33 podiums in 2026, with the all-time record for rostrums in a season standing at 34, set by Rea in 2019. Lecuona claimed his 31^st WorldSBK rostrum, with 25 of those being P2 finishes.

ROOKIE VS THE TWO-TIME CHAMPION

In the fight for third, Bautista jumped up the order from fifth to run in third but an in-form Surra at Turn 6 on Lap 2, and their battle continued into Turn 1 on Lap 3; Surra retained the podium place. Bautista then had to resist Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), which allowed Surra to build a gap over the chasing pack. However, once Bautista stabilised his pace, he started putting pressure on the #67 once again in the early stages, although the rookie was able to keep the two-time WorldSBK Champion at bay across the first half of the 21-lap race. By Lap 12, Bautista was all over the back of the rookie, and on Lap 13 the #19 was in P3 when Surra went wide at Turn 1. On the same lap, Surra answered back at Turn 6, but Bautista was able to respond immediately. However, a Lap 17 crash for Bautista at Turn 1 cost him a potential podium and promoted Surra back onto the rostrum.

TOP INDEPENDENT RIDER CONFIRMED

Montella battled from 11^th on the grid to finish fourth, and, coupled with Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) finishing in 15^th he secured the 2026 Independent Riders’ title – the third year in a row a Barni Ducati rider has won it. With the #5 also outscoring his rivals for P3 in the standings, he has a 53-point advantage heading to Jerez in the battle for bronze. Bassani finished the race in fifth place after managing a gap to Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven), with ‘Balda’ coming home in a relatively lonely sixth place.

OLIVEIRA’S ROLLERCOASTER RACE

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) finished in P7 as he fended off a hard-charging Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). After starting from P4, the #88 was running as low as 14^th on the opening lap after he ran wide at Turn 6. From there, he fought his way through the field – passing Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Gerloff in one move at Turn 1 on Lap 6 for P9, and attempting a similar move two laps later on Baldassarri and Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha), although he was only able to get ahead of ‘Balda’. On Lap 9, Oliveira ran wide at Turn 1 trying to pass his rivals and fell to 11^th, before eventually finishing in eighth. Vierge was classified in ninth with Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) rounding out the top ten.

BRINGING HOME POINTS

Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) finished in 11^th, half-a-second down on his fellow Brit in P10, while Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished in 12^th. The #87 had to fend off Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) on the final lap, with the Thai star just 0.033s behind the Australian rider at the end of the race. Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 14^th with Sam Lowes picking up the final point with 15^th.

NON-SCORES AND RETIREMENTS

Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished in 16^th place, almost five seconds down on the #14 ahead. Mattia Rato (Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and teammate Twan Smits were 17^th and 18^th respectively, as the last classified riders. Alex Lowes crashed out of the race on Lap 16 at Turn 4, while Loris Baz (MGM Optical Express Racing) crashed at Turn 3 a lap later. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) also didn’t finish the race after bringing his bike into the pits with a technical issue.

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

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +4.888s
3. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) +11.185s
4. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +18.153s
5. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +21.430s
6. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) +22.894s
   Fastest lap – Nicolo Bulega (Ducati), 1’34.696s

Championship standings

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 664 points
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 518
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 290
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 237
5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) 225
6. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) 214

Next up, Jerez! Watch every moment from the 2026 finale using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now only €9.99!