Nicolo Bulega continued his remarkable start to the 2026 WorldSBK Championship with another perfect weekend at Autodrom Most, extending his unbeaten run while Ducati tightened its stranglehold on both championship titles. Photos: WorldSBK Press

Five rounds into the 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship and Nicolo Bulega continues to rewrite the record books. The Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider arrived at Autodrom Most with four consecutive hat-tricks already under his belt and departed the Czech Republic having completed another flawless weekend, extending his winning streak to 19 races and strengthening his grip on the championship.

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While the final results suggested another straightforward weekend for the Italian, Most arguably provided his sternest challenge of the season so far. Teammate Iker Lecuona was consistently within striking distance throughout the weekend, pushing Bulega harder than any rival has managed in 2026 and producing some of the closest racing the factory Ducati teammates have shared all season.

Bulega began the weekend by smashing the lap record in Superpole, stopping the clocks at 1:29.616 to claim his fifth consecutive pole position of the year. Ducati underlined its dominance by locking out the top five positions, with Yari Montella and Lecuona joining Bulega on the front row. Garrett Gerloff continued Kawasaki’s improving form by qualifying an impressive sixth after topping Friday practice, while Bimota’s Axel Bassani headed the second row. Unfortunately for Alvaro Bautista, his weekend ended before it truly began after crashing heavily in Free Practice 3 and being ruled out through injury.

Saturday’s opening race was interrupted almost immediately when Danilo Petrucci suffered a heavy crash at Turn 13 that brought out the red flag. The BMW rider was later diagnosed with a fractured coccyx, ruling him out of the remainder of the Czech Round.

When racing resumed over the shortened distance, Bulega resumed control, but Lecuona refused to let his teammate escape. For 14 laps the reigning championship leader controlled proceedings before Lecuona finally found a way through to briefly lead the race. The pair traded blows over the closing stages in one of the best battles of the season, before Bulega responded with three laps remaining to reclaim the lead for another memorable victory.

“It was a very tough race because Iker was really strong today,” Bulega admitted afterwards. “I wasn’t 100 per cent comfortable with the bike and I had a small issue with the front brake, which is critical at this circuit. Once I got back in front I just focused on my pace and tried to create a gap.”

Lecuona was equally satisfied despite narrowly missing out on victory.

“We have completely different riding styles despite having the same bike,” he said. “I had to push hard early to recover the gap and that hurt my tyre in the closing laps. This is the first time we’ve really fought together from start to finish and that’s a very positive step.”

Behind the factory Ducati duo, Yari Montella completed another all-Ducati podium after spending much of the race comfortably in third. Garrett Gerloff delivered his best WorldSBK finish of the season in fourth for Kawasaki, while Axel Bassani and Lorenzo Baldassarri completed the top six. Alberto Surra looked set for another strong result before a Long Lap Penalty for contact with Sam Lowes dropped him down the order.

Sunday belonged to Bulega once again. The championship leader controlled both the Tissot Superpole Race and Race 2 to complete a fifth consecutive hat-trick, although neither victory came easily. Lecuona again remained firmly in contention throughout both races, while Montella reinforced his growing reputation with another podium finish in the feature race after expertly managing tyre wear over the closing laps.

Lorenzo Baldassarri continued his impressive consistency with fourth place in Race 2, narrowly missing the podium after another competitive ride for Team GoEleven. Gerloff again impressed in fifth, backing up his strongest weekend of the season, while Sam Lowes salvaged sixth after a difficult Saturday.

Most highlighted just how much Ducati has separated itself from the rest of the field. The Italian manufacturer once again claimed the major honours across all three races, while Bulega’s consistency continues to set a benchmark no other rider has been able to match. Lecuona remains his closest challenger, but even he has struggled to find an answer over full race distance despite matching his teammate for pace in several sectors.

Five rounds into the championship, Bulega’s advantage is becoming increasingly difficult to overcome. His flawless execution, combined with Ducati’s outstanding Panigale V4 R package, has produced one of the most dominant opening campaigns in WorldSBK history. While the battle for second in the championship continues to intensify, the fight for the title is rapidly becoming a race against time for the chasing pack.

Full results here…

WorldSBK Championship – Top 10

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) – 310 pts
Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) – 215 pts
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) – 121 pts
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) – 107 pts
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) – 103 pts
Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) – 101 pts
Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) – 86 pts
Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) – 85 pts
Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) – 81 pts
Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) – 68 pts

WorldSSP Championship – Top 10

Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) – 166 pts
Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) – 130 pts
Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Evan Bros Factory) – 122 pts
Can Öncü (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) – 108 pts
Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) – 96 pts
Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) – 76 pts
Jeremy Alcoba – 68 pts
Matteo Ferrari – 65 pts
Alessandro Zaccone – 58 pts
Roberto Garcia – 57 pts (Tom Booth-Amos is also on 57 points but sits 11th on countback.)

How Did the Aussies Go?

It was another encouraging weekend for the Australian contingent despite podiums remaining out of reach. Oli Bayliss produced one of his strongest rides of the World Supersport season to finish sixth in Saturday’s opening race, continuing his steady progression aboard the PTR Triumph. In WorldSBK, Remy Gardner battled hard in the midfield throughout the Czech Round but again found himself up against the relentless pace of the dominant Ducati squad. Both Australians continue to collect valuable championship points as the European leg of the season gathers momentum.

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