Jerez, Race 2: Rain made for a dramatic finale as Bulega secured a hat-trick

The Aruba.it Ducati factory team celebrated the final race of the 2026 Superbike World Championship with a special design. The gleaming silver fairing parts are intended to evoke the Imola 750 Desmo from the 1970s. World Champions Nicolò Bulega and Iker Lecuona wore black leather leathers to match. The Bimota works team had a similar idea: Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani’s KB998s were painted in a matt black finish as a tribute to the 1985 Bimota DB1.

The grid had not changed significantly as a result of the Superpole race. For the third time this weekend, Bulega started from pole position, with Lecuona and Sam Lowes simply swapping positions behind him. The second row was occupied by Yari Montella (Ducati), Alex Lowes (Bimota) and Álvaro Bautista (Ducati). Danilo Petrucci (BMW) stood on the starting grid with tears in his eyes. But not because of his 18th-place grid position, but because of the many congratulations he received ahead of his final Superbike race.

The weather could have been better for the final race of the season, however. Menacing dark clouds were gathering in the background – rain was forecast for the afternoon. When the second race got underway at 3.30 pm, however, it was dry and the thermometer read a pleasant 24 degrees Celsius. The riders had 20 laps ahead of them. 40,827 spectators watched the season finale in person.

Lecuona got off to a flying start and entered the first corner ahead of Bulega, but just a few corners later the world champion was leading the race. Behind them, Bautista, Sam and Alex Lowes, as well as M. Montella and Bassani, settled into position. The Ducati factory riders were already leading by a second after the first lap. Xavi Vierge (Yamaha) got off to a good start in 9th place. Miguel Oliveira (BMW) was in 12th, ahead of Jake Dixon (Honda) and Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki).

Bulega left no doubt that he intended to bid farewell to the Superbike World Championship with a hat-trick. With the fastest lap of the race in 1:37.573, the Italian pulled a few metres clear of Lecuona. Bautista and Sam Lowes, battling for third place, were already 2.4 seconds behind. Alex Lowes followed some way back in fifth.

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After five laps, there had been no change in the top five. Montella, Baldassarri, Bassani and Vierge were locked in a thrilling battle for sixth place. Loris Baz (Ducati) led a group of five riders fighting for eleventh place.

At the halfway point of the race, Bulega led by 2.1 seconds ahead of Lecuona and 6.5 seconds ahead of Bautista. Sam Lowes could no longer quite keep up with the Spaniard’s pace and rode alone in fourth position. As the only Yamaha rider in the points, Xavi Vierge fought tooth and nail to defend ninth place against Alberto Surra (Ducati). Oliveira had broken through to eleventh position.

At the start of the second half of the race, Vierge began to run into increasing problems – it seemed the Spaniard had pushed his tyres too hard. First, Surra and Oliveira overtook him; later, the valiantly battling Catalan was also unable to hold off Tommy Bridewell (Ducati).

At the front, Bulega methodically worked his way through the race, although the 27-year-old’s lap times were 1.5 seconds slower than at the start. The top four remained unchanged, comprising Lecuona, Bautista and Sam Lowes. In fifth place, however, Baldassarri had edged out Montella.

With five laps to go, things took a dramatic turn: the marshals signalled that rain was setting in, particularly on the start-finish straight and the first three corners. Within two laps, Sam Lowes had halved his deficit to Bautista and, at the start of lap 18, was just 0.4 seconds behind the two-time Superbike World Champion. Things also got tight once again between Baldassarri and Montella (5th place) as well as between Surra, Oliveira and Bridewell (9th place).

The track was becoming visibly wetter and the riders were sliding more frequently. Sam Lowes, however, was in his element and overtook Bautista on the final lap, crossing the line in third place behind Bulega and Lecuona – what a stroke of bad luck for the Spaniard in what may well have been his last Superbike race!

With this triple win to round off the season, Bulega now stands on 52 victories – exactly the same number as Superbike legend Troy Bayliss.

Behind Bautista, his Barni team-mate Yari Montella crossed the finish line in fifth place. The Italian also overtook Baldassarri on the final lap. The best non-Ducati rider was Alex Lowes in sixth place, whilst Bassani finished seventh.

To round off the 2026 Superbike World Championship, BMW’s star rider Miguel Oliveira finished in tenth place. Xavi Vierge dropped back to 12th, but was nonetheless the only Yamaha rider to finish in the points. Garrett Gerloff, riding the sole Kawasaki, finished 13th.

Surprisingly, Somkiat Chantra came 14th, winning the internal Honda battle. Jake Dixon claimed the final point.