Cremona, Sprint: Ducati victory for Lecuona – Bimota, BMW and Honda in the top nine

For Nicolò Bulega, the Superpole Race at the Cremona Circuit was the next opportunity to clinch the 2026 Superbike World Championship. However, Iker Lecuona’s victory on Saturday had greatly reduced the likelihood of this happening in the Sprint race – should Bulega win, the Spaniard, who had been so dominant so far in the tenth round of the season, would finish sixth at best.

The race, which started at 11.10 am and consisted of just 10 laps, took place in a mix of sun and clouds at a pleasant 23 degrees Celsius. The appeal of this format lies in the fact that the riders do not have to worry about tyre wear and can push to the limit on every lap. The sprint race gets its name because the result determines the starting grid for the second race. The top nine riders receive up to twelve World Championship points and take the first nine grid positions, whilst the remaining positions correspond to Saturday’s Superpole.

The starting grid for the sprint race mirrored the Superpole, with one exception. Race 1 winner Iker Lecuona started from the front row ahead of his Aruba.it team-mate Bulega and Ducati factory rider Alberto Surra. However, as Yamaha rider Remy Gardner withdrew from Sunday’s race due to pain in his left hand, all riders from 12th place onwards moved up one position. The Australian had crashed during the second practice session on Friday and, despite the pain, managed to finish 12th in the first race on Saturday.

Lecuona got off to a flying start and entered the first corner in the lead ahead of Bulega, Surra and Yari Montella. Alex Lowes (Bimota) was in 6th place, with Xavi Vierge behind him. At Turn 7, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Ducati) took out the helpless Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki). After Lap 1, Miguel Oliveira (BMW) was in 11th place and Jake Dixon (Honda) in 14th.

On lap 2, Álvaro Bautista (Ducati) was forced out of the race following a crash, whilst Stefano Manzi (Yamaha) was able to continue in last place after running wide off the track. At the front, Lecuona and Bulega set the pace and were already 1.5 seconds ahead of Surra, Montella, Sam Lowes and Alex Lowes. The Spaniard fended off an initial attack from the World Championship leader.

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Cremona: Rennen 2

FIM Superbike World Championship

27.09.2026 - 14:40

At the halfway stage, the Ducati factory riders were leading in the same order. Surra and Montella were battling for third place. Alex Lowes (6th), Oliveira (8th) and Andrea Locatelli (9th/Yamaha) were the only non-Ducati riders in the top nine. Meanwhile, Twan Smits was forced to retire his Yamaha due to a mechanical failure. Shortly afterwards, Manzi’s Yamaha ended up in the gravel at Turn 10.

Bulega kept pace with his team-mates, who, however, showed no discernible weakness. With three laps to go, the two Aruba riders were separated by just 0.6 seconds, whilst Montella (4th) stepped up the pressure on Surra. Meanwhile, Dixon, riding at high speed, closed in on Locatelli and set his sights on his ninth place.

In the final laps, Bulega settled for second place – the risk of an overtaking manoeuvre was evidently too high for the Italian. Lecuona won, 1.5 seconds ahead of Bulega and Surra, who successfully kept Montella at bay. Montella and Sam Lowes completed a Ducati one-two-three-four-five.

Alex Lowes was ‘Best of the Rest’ in sixth place. The top nine were rounded off by Tommy Bridewell (Ducati), Miguel Oliveira (BMW) and Jake Dixon (Honda) – the Honda rider improved his grid position by eight places for the second race!