Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) continued his MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship winning streak in dramatic fashion in the Tissot Superpole Race, bouncing back from a Turn 1, Lap 1 error to claim victory ahead of teammate Iker Lecuona. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) made it three consecutive rostrums in WorldSBK by claiming P3 at the Autodrom Most for the Czech Round.

RESPONDING TO A MISTAKE

Lecuona made a good start from P3 on the grid, while Bulega ran wide at Turn 1 and dropped to third. He passed Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) on the opening lap, and then teammate Lecuona under heavy braking at Turn 1 on Lap 2. The two factory Ducati riders instantly pulled out a gap over the chasing pack, while Montella ran in a comfortable third place. However, as the race progressed, the #5 found himself under pressure from Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven), but Montella was able to resist his challenge. At the front, the #11 slowly edged out a gap over #7 as he made it 18 consecutive wins in WorldSBK, while it’s also 14 to start the 2026 – which was more than the all-time record set by Toprak Razgatlioglu in 2024 and 2025. His 34^th WorldSBK win means he has gone level with 2013 Champion Tom Sykes. It means the Race 2 front row will be comprised of Bulega, Lecuona and Montella.

SURRA VS GERLOFF IGNITES

‘Balda’ was forced to settle for fourth as he pulled away from the Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing)-Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) battle as they squabbled over P5. The #67 moved ahead of Gerloff on Lap 4 at Turn 1 and held position until Lap 8 when the American passed him at Turn 20. However, Surra immediately responded at Turn 1 on Lap 9 to re-claim P5 and he resisted the Kawasaki rider over the final lap to hold that position, with Gerloff finishing in sixth place, with the trio making up Row 2 for Race 2.

BEST CAREER RESULT FOR BRIDEWELL

Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) had a strong race as he claimed seventh place, ahead of Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) who claimed his first top ten finish since Jerez 2019, where he was P10, and that means this is also his best WorldSBK result. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) finished in ninth, ahead of Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) who narrowly missed out on a top nine finish.

RETIRING FROM THE SUPERPOLE RACE

Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) had hoped to be in the rostrum battle, but he crashed at Turn 1 on Lap 1. He re-joined the race and finished in 17^th place. Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) retired from the race when he crashed at Turn 1 on Lap 2, while Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) fell at Turn 15 on the same lap; he re-joined the race but took his Honda machine back to the pits. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) had a tech issue around halfway through the race, dropping him out of contention.

The top nine from the Tissot Superpole Race, full results here:

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +1.959s
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +6.980s
4. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) +7.679
5. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) +9.714s
6. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) +9.853s
7. Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) +10.409s
8. Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) +11.464s
9. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +11.873s
Fastest lap: Nicolo Bulega (Ducati), 1’29.920s – new lap record

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