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Nicolo Bulega’s (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) run of dominance in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship shows no sign of stopping at the moment. The Italian is the superstar of WorldSBK racing now and refuses to concede any momentum to his rivals. With four hat-tricks out of four, ‘Bulegas’ is heading full-gas towards his first WorldSBK title.

WEATHER COULD SCUPPER PLANS: Rain is in the forecast…

This weekend at Most, where he was a race winner last year, sets up for another weekend of Ducati domination but the weather forecast certainly looks like throwing a spanner into the works. Rain, cooler temperatures and wind is in the forecast for the Czech Round so no-one is off the table in terms of challengers to Bulega.

LOW GRIP CIRCUIT: Could that help Lecuona?

The 4.2km circuit isn’t a high grip asphalt so if bad weather comes into play it will be about riders that have confidence when the bike moves around underneath them. This plays into teammate Iker Lecuona’s hands. The former Supermoto rider, will know that he needs to find some momentum in his intra-team battle. With the title all but gone at one third distance, Lecuona must now rely on luck being on his side and somehow turning the tide against Bulega. If the weather offers him hope of that this weekend, he needs to be ready to take advantage of it.

RAIN IS THE BEST LEVELLER: Who will be in the mix if it does rain?

The rain is the best chance for the rest of the field. With so many Independent Ducati riders able to contend at the front it becomes very difficult for the non-Panigale shod riders. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and bimota are always well placed to be the closest challengers. The Provec Racing run operation has done a tremendous job of maximising their potential week in and week out. Lowes, who crashed in Race 2 in Hungary, sits fifth in the standings but has ridden at a very high level this season.

LOWES CEMENTS HIS STATUS AS TEAM LEADER: Overcoming Bassani’s early-season form

Lowes has once again shown himself to be the team leader for bimota. After Round 1 in Australia, where teammate Axel Bassani had two podiums, it looked like this could be a year where Lowes’ position was challenged. Unfortunately for Bassani that hasn’t been the case since then. Superpole has consistently been Bassani’s bugbear during his WorldSBK career but qualifying 17^th and 15^th at the last two rounds is a worrying trend. In WorldSBK 2026 that is a nail in your coffin for a race weekend.

HARDER TYRE ALLOCATION: Who could this hurt?

It’s hard to see how Yamaha and BMW can bring the challenge to Ducati this weekend. Most is a circuit that is known for the challenge it forces tyres to undergo and as a result the softest tyre available will be an SC0. This means that Yamaha are forced to use a tyre that they do not readily choose. The harder compound is one that they struggle to make work, and this weekend could be a tough one for them although Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) is starting to find form again.

THE RETURN OF WORLD SUPERBIKE’S RAIN MASTER: Van der Mark back in action for BMW, Petrucci a wet-weather specialist

At BMW, the German manufacturer is without their leading man. Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) is out of action for the Czech Round and possibly Aragon in a fortnight too. Michael van der Mark will jump in as a replacement rider and the Dutchman will be excited by the prospect. He’ll work with Andrew Pitt, the pair were a race winning duo when they worked together at Yamaha, so ‘VDM’ might view this as a chance to surprise. He will certainly fancy his chances of a surprise result if the weather is bad. Oliveira’s teammate, Danilo Petrucci, eleventh in the standings, has been a solid rider this year but his results show that his Superpole performance is key. Finding a way to qualify on the front two rows of the grid is critical for the Italian. Last time out, he was tagged from behind on the opening lap of the Superpole Race and ruled out action for Race 2. He should be fully fit when racing gets underway this weekend.

THE WEATHER COULD PLAY A KEY ROLE: Forcing Bulega to scrap

The paddock will be looking at the skies throughout this weekend’s running. They’ll also be clutching at straws to fight against Bulega. He is the rider to beat come rain or shine but if the weather closes in, he’ll be forced to scrap.

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