Cremona: Iker Lecuona inflicts Nicolò Bulega’s first Superpole defeat of 2026

After Ducati factory rider Iker Lecuona dominated proceedings at the Cremona Circuit on Friday, Ducati privateer Alberto Surra set the fastest lap of the weekend so far in FP3 on Saturday morning with a time of 1:27.666. To put this into perspective: last year, Nicolò Bulega (Ducati) set the pole record at 1:27.866 – so the 22-year-old was 0.2 seconds faster!

Alongside the Motocorsa rider, Lecuona and Honda ace Jake Dixon also posted lap times under 1:28. The fact that championship leader Bulega finished 10th should not obscure the fact that the 26--time winner this season is the favourite for the tenth round of the 2026 World Superbike Championship. In any case, only a Ducati rider is likely to be in contention for pole position.

Qualifying began at 11.15 am under clear skies and took place in glorious weather. The thermometer read a pleasant 24 degrees. Superpole is a traditional qualifying session in which all riders have 15 minutes to set their best possible time. For the tenth round of the season, Pirelli is supplying the high-grip SCQ tyres. The extra grip provided by the soft compound allows for lap times that are up to one second faster.

As the traffic lights at the end of the pit lane turned green, most riders headed straight out onto the track – the Lowes twins, Sam (Ducati) and Alex (Bimota), were the last to do so. On his very first flying lap, Dixon crashed at Turn 10 – a disaster for the Englishman. Meanwhile, Lecuona set the first strong lap time of 1:27.636 mins. Many other riders had their laps disallowed due to yellow flags. In the final corner, Yamaha privateer Mattia Rato also crashed, which proved disastrous for further riders.

Behind Lecuona, three more Ducati riders – Yari Montella, Lorenzo Baldassarri and Sam Lowes – lined up. Kawasaki ace Garrett Gerloff was fifth. After the first run, Surra, Miguel Oliveira (BMW), Stefano Manzi (Yamaha) and Bulega, as well as Dixon and Rato, had no timed laps. The second and final attempt had to be spot on for these riders!

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Cremona: Rennen 1

FIM Superbike World Championship

26.09.2026 - 15:00

With six minutes remaining, the first Superbike aces took to the track on a new rear tyre. On the shortest circuit on the calendar at 3.7 km, up to three fast laps were still possible.

Lecuona went off the track whilst still on his out-lap. The Spaniard nearly crashed in the gravel. Surra, on the other hand, was in superb form, setting a record time of 1:27.437 on the tarmac. Oliveira clocked 1:28.001, which provisionally put the Portuguese rider in 7th place.

With just two minutes remaining, Bulega charged across the line with an incredible time of 1:27.297! But his team-mate was also on a fast lap and, showing nerves of steel, took the lead with a time of 1:27.253. Crashes involving Sam Lowes, Andrea Locatelli (Yamaha) and Axel Bassani (Bimota) caused yellow flags to be waved at several corners, making it impossible to set any further fast times.

As a result, Lecuona secured pole position in record time, handing his team-mate his first qualifying defeat of the year. Bulega and Surra complete the front row. With Sam Lowes, Montella and Baldassarri, the second row is also made up entirely of Ducati riders.

Bimota rider Alex Lowes leads the chasing pack in seventh place on the third row, flanked by Gerloff (8th) on the sole Kawasaki and BMW’s star rider Oliveira (9th). Remy Gardner secured the best Yamaha result in 11th place on the grid. Somkiat Chantra was the best Honda rider in 17th position.