Jerez, Sprint: Bulega just one win away from legend Troy Bayliss

In the first Superbike race on Saturday, Nicolò Bulega extended his single-season victory record to 30, and the world champion has a special incentive to win the final two races at the Circuito de Jerez as well – because that would bring his total to 52 Superbike wins, putting him on a par with the legendary Troy Bayliss.

Of course, the introduction of the Superpole Race has meant that Bulega can achieve this impressive tally in a much shorter time than the Australian’s generation did. The sprint, which got underway at 11.10 am on the final day of the 2026 Superbike World Championship season, took place under cloudy skies and in cool conditions of 20 degrees Celsius – fortunately, the forecast rain had not yet arrived.

The fact that the riders do not have to worry about tyre wear and can push to the limit on every lap is what makes this format so exciting. 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, in turn, mirrored the Superpole. Bulega, Ducati privateer Sam Lowes and Iker Lecuona started from the front row. Ducati dominated, with eight bikes in the top 10. The best rider on a different make was Bimota rider Alex Lowes in eighth place.

Bulega entered the first corner in the lead, ahead of Sam Lowes and Lecuona. With a lightning-fast start, Alex Lowes catapulted himself into fourth place. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki) also made up a lot of places, moving up to eleventh.

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18.10.2026 - 15:10

Lecuona overtook Sam Lowes on the very first lap, whilst at the front Bulega had already pulled out a lead of several metres. Behind the top three came Yari Montella (Ducati), Alex Lowes, Tommy Bridewell (Ducati) and Álvaro Bautista (Ducati). Xavi Vierge (Yamaha) was eleventh, ahead of Gerloff and Miguel Oliveira (BMW).

With the fastest lap times, however, Bulega also pulled away from Lecuona and was 1.3 seconds ahead after four laps. Sam Lowes (3rd) was 2 seconds behind. Alberto Surra (Ducati), Axel Bassani (Bimota), Vierge, Oliveira and Gerloff were battling it out for ninth place. Jake Dixon was the best-placed Honda rider in 15th.

Bautista made a strong impression, having overtaken Bridewell and, in sixth place, setting his sights on Alex Lowes (5th). With three laps to go, the Spaniard was just 0.4 seconds behind the Englishman.

At the front, Bulega managed the gap to his Aruba.it team-mate and cruised home in control to take the win. Sam Lowes finished third, a massive 4.7 seconds behind. The order of Montella, Alex Lowes, Bautista and Baldassarri in fourth to seventh places remained unchanged.

Things were entertaining further down the field. On the penultimate lap, Bridewell dropped two places when Surra and Vierge caught the Englishman off guard and secured eighth and ninth places.

Miguel Oliveira, in eleventh, missed out on a place in the top nine by just 0.4 seconds. Other positions: Gerloff in 13th and Dixon in 15th.