Two attritional red-flagged races at the Acerbis French Round and some contact with Iker Lecuona were not enough to stop Nicolo Bulega from keeping his cool to wrap up another treble in 2026.

Race 1

Lecuona almost took the lead at the first corner after starting third behind Bulega and Sam Lowes. The two would come to blows at the Adelaide hairpin and Nurburgring chicane on a few occasions at what turned out to be a manic first race at Magny Cours.

On lap three the Ducati pair briefly made contact at the section of track that lends itself to block passes and counter attacks.  Things settled down after lap six and Bulega began to stretch his lead ahead of Lecuona while the Lowes’ brothers, Alberto Surra and Lorenzo Baldassari ran behind with Jake Dixon also impressing inside the top 10 on the Honda.

When Remy Gardener was knocked out by fellow Yamaha rider Xavi Vierge at Adelaide early on, it started a chain of retirements that culminated in a red flag.  Tommy Bridewell’s crash into the air fence that subsequently needed repairs with 12 laps to go would leave just 14 bikes taking the restart (including only two out of five Yamahas).

Once again, Lecuona made contact with Bulega through the Adelaide/Nurburgring section in his efforts to take the lead on the restart.  At one point, Sam Lowes nearly scythed past for second before being baulked by Lecuona with the MarcVDS rider ultimately having to settle for third.

There were six Ducati bikes in the top eight by the finish, with Bulega inevitably pulling clear to come home 3.1 seconds ahead of a desperate Lecuona. At the other end of the pack, even when Alvaro Bautista lowsided in the second half of the race he rejoined to score guaranteed points since so few riders managed to go the distance.

Race 1 Results

Tissot Superpole Race

Although Lecuona passed Bulega to snatch the lead of the 10 lap race early on, by lap three it was a done deal.  Bulega was wise to Lecuona’s tactics after an eventful Race One yesterday and cut through at the Adelaide hairpin before the latter made a critical mistake on the following lap.

In his desperation to repass Bulega, Lecuona made a mistake that temporarily allowed Sam Lowes through into second.  By the time Lecuona bullied his way back past into second it was too late to catch Bulega, and Sam would also end up crashing out at turn three on the last lap.

Yari Montella just held onto third ahead of Surra and Alex Lowes (the only non Ducati in the top seven) while Bridewell held off Baldassari for sixth place. A little further back, Gardner got his revenge on Vierge from the previous day by passing him on the finishing line for eighth place.

After profiting from a mistake by Axel Bassani, Dixon had again been in contention for a top 10 result but both he and Bautista slid wide on lap seven.   It was another wretched race for BMW, while Ducati again reigned supreme.

Tissot Superpole Race Results

Race 2

Unlike in the previous pair of races, Lecuona could not outrace or outsmart Bulega, with the latter covering his lead at the start and rapidly created out an impressive buffer behind in the opening laps.  Things looked over for the race win when Bulega put in a stunningly quick lap on the fourth tour, and so it turned out to be.

An impressive Surra leapfrogged Montella at the start but after five spirited laps of defence the former succumbed to the latter’s aggressive attacks.  Alex Lowes tried and failed to unseat Surra for fourth before he crashed out on lap 11, with Baldassari then clear to pounce and did so three laps later.

Another satellite Ducati rider showing among the best pace they have had all year was Bridewell.  Having crashed out of Race One the previous day while running well, Bridewell was scrapping for sixth with two-time champion Bautista for most of the race, however for the second day in succession the Brit caused a red flag which this time left his body rather than a barrier bruised.

Well over two thirds of the race was complete so the red flag ended the event – which was ultimately over anyway as Bulega had settled into his groove and disappeared like he had at so many races this year. It was another crash-filled affair at Magny Cours with Alex Lowes able to rejoin but four others crashing out as well as Bridewell.

A surprise further down the order was the lack of progress from Sam Lowes after his morning crash consigned him to 10th on the grid from which he never progressed.  Up front and heading to Cremona with a VR46 MotoGP deal believed to be in his pocket, Bulega looks set to wrap up the 2026 crown on home soil in three weeks time.

Race 2 Results

 

Championship Standings

Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK