Ahead of his move to MotoGP: 50th win for Bulega – Bayliss’s record under threat

Nicolo Bulega has an incredible success rate: no other world champion with a title to their name has won so many races – Race 1 at Jerez was his 50th! In 106 races, he has secured 90 podium finishes and set the fastest lap 54 times. In terms of wins, he is the sixth-most successful rider of all time; only Jonathan Rea (119), Toprak Razgatlioglu (78), Álvaro Bautista (63), Carl Fogarty (59) and Troy Bayliss (52) have more. It must be said, however, that Fogarty and Bayliss raced at a time when there were only two races per weekend; otherwise, their tally of victories would presumably be higher.

Bulega missed out on his own pole position record at the Circuit de Jerez in qualifying by a mere 0.014 seconds, but remained over 3/10 of a second ahead of the runner-up. In the race, he led every moment of the 88.46-kilometre event and won by 1.657 seconds ahead of Ducati privateer Sam Lowes (Marc VDS) and his Aruba team-mate Iker Lecuona. It was his 30th win of the season; the previous record, set by Álvaro Bautista in 2023, stood at 27. No rider before him has achieved 45 consecutive podium finishes across multiple seasons; in terms of podium finishes in a single season (34), he is now level with record-holder Jonathan Rea. 689 World Championship points in a single year is also a new record.

Bulega is still two wins short of Bayliss

“50 wins – I’m delighted to have achieved that before moving up to MotoGP,” the serial winner told a small group of journalists in Andalusia. “It’s fantastic that I’ve been able to put in another performance like this on my final Superbike weekend. Let’s see how it goes on Sunday – the weather’s supposed to be changeable. I’ve won the championship as well as many races, and I’ve often been on pole position. Even if Sunday isn’t fantastic, it’s not the end of the world.”

Two more wins and Bulega would draw level with Bayliss. “I know,” smiled the 27-year-old. “For me, it’s already incredible to see my name in the records so close to Troy Bayliss’s, with just two fewer wins than him – he’s one of my idols. I’m only in my third year in Superbike.”

How does he feel ahead of his final day in the SBK paddock? “I won’t be happy,” said Nico. “I’m fulfilling my dream by getting to ride in MotoGP. But this paddock and my team have given me so much. I’ll always stay in touch with them and be their biggest fan next year. If I have time, I’ll definitely pop round.”

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