Nicolo Bulega has now won a record 16 consecutive WorldSBK races as Balaton Park again claimed several victims across the weekend of the Motul Hungarian Round.
Race 1
Bulega got the holeshot ahead of a flying Alberto Surra and Yari Montella. Sam Lowes was hit with a double long-lap penalty for a jump start while Miguel Oliveira and Andrea Locatelli sneaked ahead of Iker Lecuona.
Lorenzo Baldassari suffered a huge crash at the same corner Alvaro Bautista went off at last year but thankfully he was unhurt and the race continued. The next focus after the start was on the inevitable charge of Lecuona.
It took until lap six for Lecuona to get into runner-up spot. Such was his pace that some speculated if he could have won the race with a better starting position, although it is difficult to say whether Bulega was simply managing the gap en route to his record-breaking 14th straight WorldSBK victory as the gap started to noticeably come down as the laps progressed.
The fight for third however was thrilling. It was great to watch Surra fighting up front but it never lasted long despite his best efforts and some wild defensive manouevers.
Oliveria prevailed after a great three-way fight with Surra and Montella. Surra would also fall behind Bautista, Alex Lowes and Andrea Locatelli by race end. There was another thrilling race-long fight around the bottom of the top-ten like there normally is in WorldSBK with Xavi Vierge being the roadblock in ninth with four of his rivals finishing within 1.3 seconds of him.
Race 1 Results
Tissot Superpole Race
Bulega was forced wide by Montella misjudging his braking into turn one. Baldassari shuffled through to the lead ahead of Lecuona while Locatelli and Oliveria contested third.
Halfway around the first lap Locatelli and Oliveria crashed into each other causing a red flag as they narrowly avoided being hit by the rest of the field. This saved Bulega as the race was reset to the original starting grid for the restarted eight-lap affair.
Bulega got away clear this time around as Baldassari bashed Montella to let Lecuona through for second at turn two. Bautista slotted into fourth as well and he defended the rest of the race from Montella and Surra.
Sam Lowes had a strange temporary issue while his brother rode to a comfortable seventh. Garrett Gerloff and Tarran Mackenzie rounded out the top-nine to set the grid for race two and with Lecuona going to start on the front row, hopes were high that Bulega could be challenged in the afternoon.
Tissot Superpole Race Results
Race 2
The two factory Ducati’s escaped from the satellite riders behind at the start. Baldassari’s eventful weekend continued when he ran the two of them wide allowing Montella into third.
Locatelli crashed out on lap three while Bautista started to fall down the order after his incident with Baldassari. Axel Bassani, Tommy Bridewell and Alex Lowes also retired in the opening stages with the latter almost running into the back of Mackenzie which caused his crash.
Baldassari slowly started to close on Montella for the podium having escaped punishement. Behind them Gerloff did well to pass Surra for fifth with Sam Lowes later deposing the young Italian for sixth.
Mackenzie finished a comfortable eighth ahead of the two GRT Yamaha teammates with Bautista a lowly 11th ahead of the similarly disappointed Vierge. Both factory BMW riders were withdrawn due to injuries suffered earlier, while Bulega lead Lecuona home for yet another treble of race wins in 2026.
Race 2 Results
Championship Standings
Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK
