Misano World Circuit, Italy
Seventh round of the 2026 Superbike World Championship, seventh sweep for Nicolò Bulega. At the Misano World Circuit "Marco Simoncelli", in front of his home crowd, on a track where he had never won in WSBK before, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider claimed pole, Race 1, the Superpole Race and Race 2, rewriting the record book on more than one front.
In Superpole Nicolò set a 1'31.343, breaking the all-time circuit record and sealing his eighth consecutive pole — a result that matches Jonathan Rea's 2021 record. A fiercely contested front row: Lecuona second, +0.227, with Alex Lowes (Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) third, +0.657 — the British rider's first front row of the season and his second in a row at Misano.
In Race 1, his maiden WSBK win at his home circuit. Bulega launched from pole, but Lecuona stole the lead into turn 1; Nicolò hit back at turn 8 and from there steadily built his advantage, crossing the line 6.117 seconds ahead with a new race lap record of 1'32.552. Third was Yari Montella (Barni Spark), claiming his maiden WorldSBK podium in front of the Italian crowd. Ducati podium lockout, 75th WorldSBK podium for Bulega — a tally that matches Marco Melandri and Colin Edwards — 23rd consecutive win and 19th of the season. For Lecuona, his 16th consecutive second place.
On Sunday in the Superpole Race another milestone: his 40th career WorldSBK win. Bulega led every one of the ten laps. At the start Lecuona had front-wheel lift issues and lost over a second, then recovered, but Bulega controlled to the flag and crossed 1.133 seconds ahead. Third again Montella, with Alex Lowes retiring while running fourth due to a technical failure and Alberto Surra dropping to seventh after a 3-second penalty. Twenty-fourth consecutive win and a new race lap record of 1'31.945.
In Race 2 the same script played out again. Lecuona launched well and grabbed the lead, but Bulega passed him cleanly at turn 11 on lap one; the Spaniard ran wide at turn 12 and Nicolò stretched his lead beyond two seconds. Bassani and Alex Lowes tried to bridge across, but Bassani crashed at turn 8 with four laps to go, gifting third to Montella, who completed an identical three-podium weekend (Bulega/Lecuona/Montella). Bulega crossed the line 5.101 seconds clear of Lecuona, Montella third at 14.016, Alex Lowes fourth at 15.959.
The numbers from an unrepeatable weekend: seventh seasonal hat-trick, an outright record as the first rider in WorldSBK history to score seven triple wins in a single season; 25 consecutive victories including the last four of 2025; 21 from 21 in 2026 — equalling Toprak Razgatlioglu's full 2025 season total; 40 career WorldSBK wins; 77 total podiums, making him the all-time Italian podium leader in WSBK, overtaking Marco Melandri. Eight poles in a row, level with all-time pole king Jonathan Rea.
"This may be my best weekend since I arrived in WorldSBK", Bulega's verdict at the end of the weekend. "It's incredible to break these records. Becoming the Italian with the most podiums in WorldSBK, and doing it here at Misano, is even more special."
The series moves on to the next round, with Nicolò set to chase down Rea's consecutive pole record and to keep extending the most impressive winning streak in the championship.
