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  • WorldSBK: Lecuona looms but Bulega still on top at Most

    WorldSBK: Lecuona looms but Bulega still on top at Most

    The 2026 Czech Round at Autodrom Most saw Nicolo Bulega under serious pressure from his ever-improving teammate Iker Lecuona while Yari Montella finally secured the podium finishes he had crashed out of more than once already this season, but the ultimate outcome up front was all too familiar…

    Race 1

    The race was immediately red-flagged on lap one when Danilo Petrucci crashed at turn 13 and the BMW rider needed stretchered out of the gravel trap.  With Miguel Oliveria already absent and Michael van der Mark back to replace him this weekend, BMW may need not one but two replacement riders for the next round in just two weeks time, with Petrucci ruled out of Sunday’s action in the Czech Republic… just like Alvaro Bautista who crashed at the same place earlier in the weekend.

    On the restart, Alberto Surra and Sam Lowes provided the entertainment for the first few laps before they came together at turn 15.  Surra was docked with a long-lap penalty which spoiled another impressive run in his debut season while a livid Sam Lowes was knocked out of the race and the podium hunt.

    Profiting from the incident were a rejuvenated Garrett Gerloff with his best WorldSBK result in a long time with fourth for Kawasaki.  Axel Bassani was fifth and his teammate Alex Lowes put on a charge after a poor qualifying to rise to seventh a long way behind Lorenzo Baldassari but prevailing over Andrea Locatelli and the penalised Surra.

    Montella stayed on the bike – unlike in previous rounds where he was running well – and was rewarded with a podium that should have come much earlier in the season.  Up front having unsurprisingly dispatched Montella for second, Lecuona was promisingly keeping Bulega honest as the race progressed.

    Unlike in the first race at Assen where he pounced on Bulega’s mistake when the rain failed, this time around Lecuona caught and passed Bulega with no external factors.  With eight laps still to go Lecuona was right on the back wheel of his teammate and next time around got past at the turn one/two sequence.

    Lecuona then had to perform some block passes over the thrilling final laps of the race, but Bulega ultimately retook and held the lead in time to stretch a one-second gap on the last lap.  Finally the Italian has a genuine competitor in 2026 but importantly Bulega still has the upper hand and his unprecedented winning streak continues.

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Tissot Superpole Race

    Bulega immediately went wide at turn one which allowed Lecuona into the lead and set up a fight for the win… which lasted for half a lap.  Once Bulega struck back he was able to repel his teammate for another victory and guarantee pole for the afternoon race.

    Also at the start, Sam Lowes crashed out while Axel Bassani and Locatelli had to take to the escape road and bypass the first two turns.  Montella settled in third and Gerloff ran as high as fourth before slipping back behind Baldassari (who nearly made it to the podium) and Surra.

    Bahattin Soguoglu’s engine blew up at halfway but thankfully the race was not affected.  The three BSB champions came rounded out the top nine that sets the grid for the full-distance afternoon race while Bulega came home two seconds clear out front.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Race 2

    For almost the first half of the race, there were six Ducati’s in the top six.  The order at the front was once again Bulega, Lecuona, Montella and Baldassari – the latter coming close to the podium again and who broke free from one of the most interesting battles of the season so far behind him.

    Gerloff and Surra spent the majority of the race locked in a thrilling duel for fifth.  They came together twice before Gerloff finally won out, with their battles allowing the Bimota duo to close in once they had dispatched of Tarran Mackenzie.

    Mackenzie slid out with a small error with seven laps to go, as Locatelli and Bridewell fought all the way to the line over ninth.  Sam Lowes slowly made progress from his poor grid position but spent most of his time battling the struggling Yamaha’s.

    As in Saturday’s race the fight for the lead was closely contested by the factory Ducati duo.  Although this was the closest Lecuona (or anyone) has come to beating Bulega this year, the Italian demonstrated he still has the upper hand and sealed a narrow victory.

    With the rumours of a MotoGP switch for 2027 intensifying and both Montella and Surra putting on an audition to replace him, the Superbike World Championship finally enjoyed a competitive weekend of racing at the sharp end in 2026. Ultimately however, the end result was all too familiar as Bulega took another record-extending treble victory.

    Race 2 Results

    Championship Standings

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Ducati dominate as Oliveria delights home crowd at Portimao

    WorldSBK: Ducati dominate as Oliveria delights home crowd at Portimao

    The Pirelli Portuguese Round of the 2026 Superbike World Championship saw home hero Miguel Oliveira delight his supporters with a podium finish in each of the three races around the Algarve International Circuit, but it was aruba.it Racing Ducati who enjoyed the spoils with consecutive one-two finishes…

    Race 1

    From pole position, Nicolo Bulega secured the hole shot and went unchallenged in Saturday afternoon’s race.  Hopes were high that Oliveria (in only his second WorldSBK round) could spoil the party but the Portuguese rider lost a position on the opening lap.

    Yari Montella ran second as the meat in a factory Ducati sandwich, with Oliveira recovering to fourth at the start of the second lap.  The biggest mover at the race start was Jonathan Rea, back in business for Honda racing at one of his most successful circuits.

    At around one quarter distance, Montella slid out of second just as he had at the previous round in Philip Island.  This promoted Iker Lecuona to second behind his teammate who already had things under control out front but had not quite cleared off into the distance as might have been expected.

    Oliveira was able to comfortably fend off Alex Lowes to maintain his inherited podium position while his more experienced teammate Danilo Petrucci suffered around the fringes of the top 10.  There was not quite enough pace from the BMW rider to threaten the aruba.it factory Ducati duo out front but the gap rather promisingly was less than five seconds.

    A still-recovering Sam Lowes did well to come fifth after his crash at Philip Island, while Xavi Vierge impressed again as the top Yamaha and newly-married Garrett Gerloff raced him hard but ultimately came home just behind in seventh.

    Axel Bassani, Alvaro Bautista and Petrucci rounded out the top 10, with the next best Yamaha only 12th in the hands of Andrea Locatelli.  Up front it was a very happy podium all round, with Lecuona and Oliveira scoring their first rostrums for their new teams respectively.

    Race 1 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    Tissot Superpole Race

    A wheelie from Lecuona off the front row helped Oliveria and Alex Lowes slot in behind Bulega by turn one.  Montella looked to only have the pace for fifth as the top four broke away in the opening laps.

    Bulega, Oliveira, Alex Lowes and Lecuona all looked close and competitive but by the halfway stage the former began to stretch his lead out front.  By turn 1 on lap 6 immediately after the halfway point, Lecuona had completed his recovery back to second place to secure another 1-2 for arbua.it Ducati.

    Sam Lowes eventually made it past Montella who had been leading a train of around 10 bikes in the first half of the 10-lap affair.  The chasing pack then split up into smaller groups, with Vierge, Bassani and Bautista following him home to complete the crucial top 9 positions that secured points and grid positions for the afternoon’s feature-length affair.

    Tissot Superpole Race Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    Race 2

    With 82,000 fans reportedly piled in to Portimao, mostly to cheer on the home hero Oliveria, the fans were expectant of at least another podium for the new BMW rider.  Alex Lowes made the best start leaping into second while Bulega for the third time in a row got the hole shot from pole.

    Oliveira passed Alex Lowes for second at the start of the next lap but on the next tour Lecuona had done the inevitable and reasserted runner-up spot.  For the remainder of the race Oliveira had the Bimota rider pressuring him the whole way but he narrowly prevailed to make it three straight podiums to the delight of his ardent fans in the grandstands.

    After the race settled down following the opening laps, a rather chaotic phase ensued that saw several riders crash out.  Montella and Vierge went down at the turn five seconds apart but in separate incidents, then Bautista followed at the same corner a few laps later.

    Alberto Surra, Tarran Mackenzie and Bahattin Sofouglu were also forced to retire around the same time with the latter’s teammate Mattia Rato exiting later on.  Gerloff slid out at high speed on the last corner of the last lap and just as painfully Yari Montella made it a double retirement for Barni Spark Racing Team after a weekend of such promise.

    This left the 15 riders who went the distance all with championship points, although the Honda duo did not have much to cheer about and the top Yamaha was only ninth in no small part thanks to the attritional nature of the race under the basking sunshine in the Algarve.

    Sam Lowes had a lonely ride to fifth with Lorenzo Baldassari having a decent run to sixth ahead of Petrucci and Bassani before Locatelli languished home in ninth.  There had been some thrilling battles lower down the order but some were muted thanks to the spate of retirements.

    This was the first time since the adoption of the three-race per weekend format was introduced in World Superbikes that a team had finished one-two in all three events in a round.  It was Oliveria though who stole the limelight and has ignited hope that although Bulega and Ducati are still champions elect, there might be a chance for he and BMW to fight for victory as the 2026 season really starts to kick into gear…

    Race 2 Results

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Championship Standings

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK