The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship headed to the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Andalucia for the 2026 season finale. It was time for the Pirelli Spanish Round to round out a record-breaking season, but who ended the year on a high and who will be aiming to turn their fortunes around heading into next season?
SAM LOWES BOUNCES BACK
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) headed to Jerez on the back of a tricky Estoril where he struggled to break into the top ten all weekend. The final round of the season was a different story, however, with the #14 only outside the top three once – in FP3. He split the two factory Ducatis in the Tissot Superpole session to claim second on the grid and converted that into P2 in Race 1 for his first rostrum since Cremona. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) got ahead of him in the Tissot Superpole Race but the Brit came home in third. In Race 2, it looked like Lowes would finish in fourth until some late-race rain meant he was able to hunt down Alvaro Bautista and snatch a podium on the final lap; jubilation for Lowes, heartbreak for the #19.
BAUTISTA SO CLOSE TO A DREAM END TO 2026
Bautista’s future is still up in the air, with nothing confirmed about the two-time Champion. He has maintained that he wants to race, and his speed over Estoril and Jerez has proven he can still fight at the front. Ninth in Superpole became fourth in Race 1 and sixth in the Superpole Race, before a superb launch off the line in Race 2 meant he was in the podium places by Turn 1 on the opening lap. Running in third, he resisted earlier pressure from Lowes before building a gap of around 1.3 seconds by Lap 13. However, as rain started to fall, the British rider closed in and, while Bautista put up a valiant defence, Lowes got ahead at Turn 5 on the final lap to deny Bautista what could have been a final rostrum in WorldSBK. With 2026 done and nothing confirmed for the 63-time race winner, what will the future hold?
BULEGA ENDS THE SEASON WITH MORE RECORDS
Nicolo Bulega has re-written the history books this season. Prior to Jerez, the #11 had won more races in a row than anyone else, had claimed more podiums than anyone else and more wins in a single campaign than any other rider in WorldSBK history. So, perhaps it was no surprise he bowed out of WorldSBK with a few more records. He tied Ben Spies’ tally of poles from 2009 as the most recorded in a single season, with 11. He moved onto 50 victories in just 106 races, the quickest rider to achieve this; 44 races faster than previous record holder Troy Bayliss. With his hat-trick, he tied Bayliss’ tally of 52 wins for fifth place in the all-time list. The Superpole Race victory mean he moved onto 701 points, becoming the first rider to hit the 700-point mark. He finished on 726 out of a possible 744. After three years in WorldSBK, Bulega heads to MotoGP as he looks to mark his mark in Grand Prix racing.
YAMAHA’S SEASON ENDS ON A LOW NOTE
It’s been a tricky season for Yamaha in general this year, and it ended with just a handful of points to their name. Xavi Vierge was on course for points in Race 1 before his bike burst into flames down the start-finish straight, although both Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) did score. The undoubted high of the weekend would have been Vierge snatching P9 on the final lap in the Superpole Race as he took advantage of Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) and Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) battling, before he finished the weekend in P12 in Race 2 as Yamaha’s only points scorer. The Japanese manufacturer will be hoping the 2027 rule changes and Jack Miller’s arrival, plus all the lessons learnt this season, can contribute to stronger performances next season.
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