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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: Instant classic Czech Race 2 settled by just 0.027s

    WorldSBK: Instant classic Czech Race 2 settled by just 0.027s

    After victory pole position and victory in Race 1 on Saturday, Sunday started well for Toprak Razagatlioglu as he saw off an early challenge by Nicolo Bulega in the Tissot Superpole Race but was thwarted on the finish line in Race 2 by his Ducati rival by just 0.027 seconds.

    TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE

    Much like in Race 1, Bulega beat Razgatlioglu to turn 1 at the start of the 10-lap affair.  This began a thrilling battle that lasted just under half of the race before the crucial moment came when Bulega cut the first chicane while battling Razgatlioglu for the lead.

    While running wide, Bulega added a second to Razgatlioglu’s lead that the Turkish rider was able to protect for the remainder of the race, with the BMW rider going on to secure a new race lap record on his way to the victory.  It was another comfortable 2nd place for the factory Ducati rider ahead of the two satellite riders behind him.

    Danilo Petrucci recorded another podium finish and was ran close by Sam Lowes.  Behind them came a charging Alvaro Bautista who came from 10th to 5th with some audacious move in the 10-lap sprint to secure a second-row start for Race 2 in the afternoon.

    Alex Lowes split the Honda HRC riders, with Xavi Vierge only just pipping Andrea Locatelli to the line for 8th place.  Jonathan Rea was also right behind in the battle for the crucial top 9 positions that set the grid for Race 2 but fell short behind his teammate.

    Axel Bassani had been in contention for a top-9 spot but was docked with a double long-lap penalty for jumping the start.  Up front, there was definitely some renewed vigour that Bulega could challenge Razgatlioglu more than in Race 1 heading into the final full-distance even in the afternoon.

    TISSOT SUPERPOLE RACE RESULTS

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

     

    RACE 2

    For the third time in succession, Bulega beat Razgatlioglu to the first corner at the Motul Czech Round as the BMW rider struggled to get the hole shot from his three successive pole positions.  The pair were fortunate to get to the chicane before everyone else as just like in Race 1 the filed concertinaed up with disastrous consequences for some.

    Once again, Bautista found himself caught in the madness that he hoped he would avoid having started from P5 instead of P10 but it was not to be for the Spanish veteran.  It was Rea who checked up going through the apex of turn 2 that saw a distraught Bautista and Vierge eliminated on the spot and Alex Lowes being forced to ride through the gravel and condemn himself to the back of the grid after taking the necessary avoiding action.

    Rea had got himself into 5th thanks to the chaos he had initiated but was unsurprisingly dealt a double long-lap penalty from the stewards.  Once he rejoined from both he ended up 12th and would finish 13th, although there had at least been flashes of pace this weekend for the Northern Irishman who continues his recovery from injury earlier in the season.

    Razgatlioglu stuck within range of Bulega for the first half of the 22-lap race, meanwhile Petrucci and Sam Lowes resumed their battle from the Tissot Superpole over the final spot on the podium, with the former once again securing 3rd place but by a very slim margin over his British rival.

    The other big mover in the first half of the race was Bassani who rose as high as 5th ahead of an impressive Remy Gardner.  In the end it was Gardner who prevailed while his teammate Dominique Aegerter fought his way up through the lower points-paying positions and another satellite Yamaha of Bahattin Sofuoglu had yet another long-lap penalty that ruined his progress for cutting turn 1 again after a solid ride until that point.

    With half the race completed Razgatlioglu passed Bulega with a surprise move through turns 16 and 17 having stalked his rival to identify his weaknesses around Most.  Although Bulega was back past at turn 1 shortly after, the next time around saw Razgatlioglu launch a successful block pass through the first chicane to steal the lead.

    It appeared that Razgatlioglu had it all under control as he sought the treble in the Czech Republic before Bulega started to reel him in right towards the very end of the 22 laps.  With 3 laps to go and rain starting to fall around the outskirts of the circuit, it suddenly looked as if the race was well and truly on instead of another forgone conclusion.

    Even exiting the last corner on the final lap Bulega was still not ahead but by the finish line he was, by just 0.027 seconds.  It was the sort of ending that Razgatlioglu used to suffer back in his Yamaha days when battling Bautista at tracks like Portimao and the Turk predictably made his frustrations clear on the slowing down lap while also pinning the blame on his bike.

    Bulega’s victory was thoroughly well deserved after his horrific highside on Friday and it brought a nice bit of variety after he himself blitzed everyone at Cremona a fortnight ago.  Razgatlioglu ultimately brings the points gap down to Bulega by 3 overall and 31 total this weekend, while Petrucci jumps ahead of a hapless Bautista for 3rd overall in the standings.

    RACE 2 RESULTS

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK

  • WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu dominates Race 1 in Most

    WorldSBK: Razgatlioglu dominates Race 1 in Most

    Toprak Razgatlioglu lived up to his imperious reputation at the Motul Czech Round with a dominant victory in Race 1 well ahead of an injured Nicolo Bulega, whose effort was remarkable after a highside in practice.

    Despite losing his lead from pole position to Bulega at turn 1 on the 1st lap, Razgatlioglu was quick enough to stick with his Ducati rival as the race developed.  Within just a handful of laps, the BMW rider muscled his was back past at turn 1 to assert a lead that he would stretch to 6 seconds by the end of the 22-lap race in Most.

    Bulega suffered a horrific highside in practice on Friday and was thankfully declared to fit to continue competing in the Czech Republic.  Second place while still recovering from his crash was a solid effort at a track that is known to be one of Razgatlioglu’s strongest.

    Despite the BMW’s comfortable victory on Saturday in the Czech Republic, the second factory Ducati of Alvaro Bautista had some scintillating pace as he fought through from towards the back of the grid.  The 40-year-old underperformed in qualifying with 10th place and then had to slow up going through the tight right-left at turns 1 and 2.

    Andrea Locatelli and Michael van der Mark crashed out as the field concertinaed up behind Bautista, who had to slam on the brakes.  Once he had recovered from the chaos, Bautista started to unleash laptimes that were second only to Razgatlioglu and he eventually recovered to 5th.

    Had the race been another lap longer, that might well have been P4.  Bautista had caught Sam Lowes at the end of the penultimate lap and passed him into turn 1 on the final lap before just running out of time to snatch 4th from the other Lowes brother – Alex.

    The Lowes brothers had contested 4th from the very start of the race but were unable to challenge Danilo Petrucci on the satellite Barni Ducati.  Petrucci’s race was a comfortable ride to 3rd, not challenged behind and unable to trouble the top 2.

    Unfortunately, Petrucci’s chief independent rival – Andrea Iannone – was declared unfit to race.  Behind the top 6 came Iker Lecuona, whose teammate Xavi Vierge had a long battle with Yari Montella for 7th but came off worse.

    Jonathan Rea ran as high as 6th but settled in 10th as the race progressed, with the Northern Irishman’s future the topic of debate after an underwhelming stint with Yamaha.  This was the best result for Yamaha, although Bahattin Sofouglu had a strong ride to 15th that might have been slightly better if he had not been penalised for cutting turn 1 and being docked with a long lap penalty.

    Heading into Sunday’s action at the Motul Czech Round, Razgatlioglu will be confident of securing another triple-victory.  Bautista will also be confident of a strong showing in the Tissot Superpole race to put himself in a better position for Race 2.

    RACE 1 RESULTS

    Image Credit: WorldSBK

    Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK