This is a first for Ducati – Nicolo Bulega, just like Max Biaggi in his day

Despite having his worst weekend of the season, Nicolo Bulega clinched the World Championship in Cremona – we’re talking three second-place finishes! What the Italian has achieved this year is unrivalled: he won the first 21 races, and 25 in total across both seasons. He secured the triple (pole, win and fastest lap) eight times, and was beaten by an opponent on just four occasions – each time by his Aruba team-mate Iker Lecuona. Nine pole positions in ten events and 25 fastest race laps in 30 races further underline the 26-year-old’s dominance.

At his home race in northern Italy, the entire Ducati leadership was in attendance, including Managing Director Claudio Domenicali, technical guru Gigi Dall’Igna and Sporting Director Mauro Grassilli. They all wanted to be there to witness Nicolo Bulega’s greatest triumph of his career – he is set to be their MotoGP rider next year in Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team.

The race felt like an eternity to Bulega

The 23 laps to his second world title – following his victory in the Supersport class in 2023 – felt like an eternity to him. “When there were still 16 laps to go, I wondered how on earth I was going to get through them,” Bulega explained. “I made loads of mistakes; it was a bad race. Iker was incredibly fast. At the start, I used him to pull away from the chasing pack, but I couldn’t keep up with him. My goal was the championship – I was so emotional whilst riding that I kept making mistakes. What’s more, this circuit is the complete opposite of what suits my riding style. For Iker, on the other hand, this circuit suits him well. And to be perfectly honest: when you have the chance to win the title in Italy, as the first Italian on a Ducati, and you see all those people who are here just for you, you simply can’t ride at 100 per cent. I told myself to ride at just 90 per cent. But we’re not talking about 15th place, we’re talking about second place.”

Willkommen zum Rennen in Cremona

Foto: Gold & Goose

Nicolò Bulega

Foto: Gold & Goose

Fans

Foto: Gold & Goose

Sam und Alex Lowes

Foto: Gold & Goose

Iker Lecuona

Foto: Gold & Goose

Jake Dixon

Foto: Gold & Goose

Garrett Gerloff

Foto: Gold & Goose

Das Bike von Yari Montella

Foto: Gold & Goose

Nicolò Bulega

Foto: Gold & Goose

Axel Bassani

Foto: Gold & Goose

Alex Lowes

Foto: Gold & Goose

Xavi Vierge

Foto: Gold & Goose

Alberto Surra

Foto: Gold & Goose

Jake Dixon

Foto: Gold & Goose

Andrea Locatelli

Foto: Gold & Goose

Nicolò Bulega

Foto: Gold & Goose

Sam Lowes

Foto: Gold & Goose

Axel Bassani

Foto: Gold & Goose

Yari Montella

Foto: Gold & Goose

Andrea Locatelli

Foto: Gold & Goose

Iker Lecuona gewinnt beide Läufe in Cremona

Foto: Gold & Goose

Nicolò Bulega ist Superbike-Weltmeister 2026

Foto: Gold & Goose

Weltmeister Nicolò Bulega

Foto: Gold & Goose

Lauf 1 - Nicolò Bulega, Iker Lecuona, Sam Lowes

Foto: Gold & Goose

Lauf 2 - Nicolò Bulega, Iker Lecuona, Yari Montella

Foto: Gold & Goose

Cremona-Sieger Iker Lecuona

Foto: Gold & Goose

Weltmeister Nicolò Bulega

Foto: Gold & Goose

Willkommen zum Rennen in Cremona

© Gold & Goose

Bulega on his ‘incredible story’

It’s astonishing: only one Italian before Bulega has won the title in the Superbike World Championship, which was founded in 1988 – the great Max Biaggi on an Aprilia in 2010 and 2012. “A lot of things go through your mind,” Nico noted. “After the chequered flag, I started crying; afterwards, it was lovely that so many riders came over to congratulate me. Then all my friends were standing at Turn 5 to celebrate the title – that was fantastic. I haven’t quite realised yet what I’ve achieved. When I was young, my father had a team in the Supersport World Championship; I was born in that paddock. As a child, I used to watch Bayliss, Haga and all those incredible riders. And now, a few years later, I’m the world champion – it’s an unbelievable story.”

Topic of the week

Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madring: track – hit or miss?

The people of Madrid had set their sights high for their city’s first Formula 1 World Championship race since 1981. But have the high expectations for the new Madring mixed-circuit track really been met?

Read More

TV Program

Live

Estoril: 1. Freies Training

FIM Superbike World Championship

09.10.2026 - 11:15

Bulega dedicated the title to everyone who believed in him, even “in the tough times”. He doesn’t want to pin his achievement solely on that one big goal, but is grateful for all five years with the Aruba team. “And now it’s off to MotoGP, ”grinned the 46-time Superbike winner. “Everything is going as well as it possibly could for me; I’m in great form at the moment and want to enjoy it. I usually keep my emotions well under control. But I think once all the stress has lifted on Monday, I’ll probably need a bit of a rest.”