Estoril, Race 1: Bulega equals victory record – Oliveira fights his way to 4th place

For the tenth time in the 2026 Superbike World Championship, Nicolò Bulega started the first race from pole position. The front row at the Circuito do Estoril was completed by his Aruba.it Ducati team-mate Iker Lecuona and Bimota works rider Alex Lowes.

Local hero and BMW rider Miguel Oliveira qualified in fifth place. Jake Dixon secured seventh place on his Honda; Garrett Gerloff, riding the sole Kawasaki, was eleventh, whilst Yamaha rider Xavi Vierge was a more modest 13th on the grid.

At the start of the race at 3.30 pm local time, conditions were almost ideal, with a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. The Superbike riders had 21 laps to complete. Although the World Championship had already been decided in Bulega’s favour and Lecuona was confirmed as runner-up, the battle for third place in the overall standings was still on between Montella and the Lowes twins.

Lecuona won the sprint to the first corner, and Alex Lowes also overtook Bulega in the opening corners. Oliveira lost a position, whilst Jake Dixon got off to a disastrous start, emerging from the first lap in 14th place. In lap 2, Lowes was pushed back to fourth place by Bulega and Surra, with Oliveira, Montella and Bassani following close behind the Bimota.

With the fastest lap of the race in 1:35.299, Bulega restored the original order on the third lap. Meanwhile, Oliveira moved up past Lowes into fourth place. The three Ducatis at the front had already pulled out a lead of one second. Xavi Vierge’s Yamaha was the best-placed Yamaha in 11th place, followed by Gerloff and Dixon.

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Estoril: Superpole Race

FIM Superbike World Championship

11.10.2026 - 11:55

With a lap record of 1:34.964, Bulega pulled further clear; only Lecuona was able to keep up with the Italian’s impressive pace to any extent. After seven laps, the Ducati works riders led by 3.9 seconds ahead of Surra and 5.1 seconds ahead of Oliveira. Montella, meanwhile, had major problems and, following contact with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Ducati), could only manage 10th place.

Incidentally, the top 10 comprised seven Ducatis, two Bimotas and one BMW – the best Japanese bike was Gerloff’s Kawasaki in 11th place.

By the halfway point of the race, Bulega had built up a comfortable lead of 2.1 seconds over Lecuona. There were no battles for position within the top five at this stage. Alex Lowes and Bassani, as well as Baldassarri and Álvaro Bautista (Ducati), were jostling for sixth place. Other positions: Gerloff (11th), Vierge (12th), Dixon (14th).

Nicolo Bulega (Ducati) equals Álvaro Bautista’s record for the most wins

In the second half of the race, Bulega, Lecuona and Surra expertly stuck to their game plan and crossed the finish line in that order. It is the Italian’s 27th win this year, equalling Álvaro Bautista’s record set in 2023.

Miguel Oliveira finished a creditable fourth, 2 seconds off a podium place. The BMW rider was unable to quite keep up with Surra’s pace in the final third of the race. Bimota ace Alex Lowes crossed the line in fifth place.

In the battle for sixth place, Baldassarri came out on top. Bassani, Montella, Bautista and Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki) rounded off the top 10.

For Jake Dixon (12th/Honda) and Xavi Vierge (13th/Yamaha), the first race ended on a rather disappointing note.