Magny-Cours, Race 1: Crash drama as Bulega wins – points for all

For the ninth time in the 2026 Superbike World Championship, Bulega secured pole position on Saturday morning at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. Having won 23 of the 24 races this season, the Italian was already the favourite. The Ducati works rider had already secured two victories on the French circuit as a rookie in 2024; last year, he was beaten only by Toprak Razgatlioglu.

The front row for the first race was completed by two further Ducati riders, Sam Lowes and Iker Lecuona. In fact, the Italian manufacturer also dominated the second row with Yari Montella and Alberto Surra in fourth and fifth places. The first non-Ducati rider on the grid was Bimota ace Alex Lowes in sixth.

The weather at the start of the race at 3.30 pm was still bearable at 27 degrees Celsius. There were 21 laps to complete. Bulega won the sprint to the first corner, whilst Lecuona and Alex Lowes overtook Sam Lowes. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki) got off to a strong start: 6th place!

After Lecuona briefly took the lead, the first half of the race was dominated by Bulega. The Italian had already built up a 0.9-second lead with the fastest lap of the race in 1:35.394 when the race was stopped following a crash by Tommy Bridewell on lap 10. The Englishman’s Ducati crashed at high speed into an air fence, which was damaged by the force of the impact. All that remained of the V4R was a pile of scrap.

By that point, five other riders – Remy Gardner (Yamaha), Stefano Manzi (Yamaha), Mattia Rato (Yamaha), Somkiat Chantra (Honda) and Miguel Oliveira (BMW) – had already been forced out of the race following crashes. And because Tarran Mackenzie (Ducati) was absent anyway and Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha) had been declared unfit to race following a crash in the second free practice session on Friday, only 14 riders took part in the restart. This meant points for everyone who made it to the finish line.

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Twelve-lap restart with just 14 motorbikes

The interruption also provided an opportunity to tweak the set-up slightly or have new tyres fitted. With only twelve laps remaining, a softer tyre compound could also be used.

The warm-up lap provided the next bit of drama: Lorenzo Baldassarri (Ducati) crashed, but managed to pick up his bike and take his original starting position.

Bulega won the start and entered the first corner ahead of Lecuona and Sam Lowes. However, the Spaniard emerged from the first lap in the lead – just as he had at the first start! Behind the three Ducati riders came Alex Lowes (Bimota), who in turn was closely pursued by the privateer Ducatis of Yari Montella, Alberto Surra and Baldassarri.

With a fastest lap of 1:35.290 mins, Bulega not only reclaimed the lead but also pulled 0.9 seconds clear of Lecuona in one fell swoop. Meanwhile,

In lap 3, Álvaro Bautista (Ducati) crashed – what is likely to be the two-time Superbike World Champion’s final season is a drama in its own right. Meanwhile, Bulega lowered the lap record to 1:35.030 mins.

After six of twelve laps, Bulega led by 2.7 seconds ahead of Lecuona and 4.2 seconds ahead of Sam Lowes. In fourth place, Alex Lowes (Bimota) put up a fierce fight against the Ducati trio. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki) rode the best Japanese bike to ninth place. Behind him came the Yamaha duo of Xavi Vierge and Andrea Locatelli, followed by Jake Dixon (Honda) and Danilo Petrucci (BMW). Bautista was trailing the field by a minute.

There was no disputing Nicolò Bulega’s 24th victory of the season. The Ducati works rider controlled the race in the second half and crossed the finish line 3.1 seconds ahead of Lecuona. Sam Lowes finished third.

Yari Montella (Ducati) came out on top in the battle for fourth place. Alex Lowes (Bimota) secured a creditable fifth. Baldassarri, Axel Bassani (Bimota), Surra, Gerloff and Vierge rounded out the top 10.

Finishing twelfth, Jake Dixon (Honda) scored the first World Championship points of his Superbike career. Danilo Petrucci (BMW) appeared less pleased, having lost 24 seconds whilst finishing 13th – that is, two seconds per lap.