Winner Nicolo Bulega is a fascinating figure: “Giving it your all and pushing your body to the limit”

The record for the most wins in a single season in the Superbike World Championship stands at 27, set by Álvaro Bautista in 2023. Since 10 October 2026, this record has also been held by Nicolo Bulega; the world champion won the first race at Estoril in yet another outstanding performance ahead of his Aruba team-mate Iker Lecuona, after smashing Toprak Razgatlioglu’s (BMW) pole position record in qualifying. Bearing in mind that Bulega still has five races to go this year, Bautista’s record could well be surpassed as early as Sunday.

“For me, winning again is more important than the record,” emphasised the Ducati star, who secured the title at his home race in Cremona but had to settle for third place behind Lecuona on three occasions. “I’m riding my bike well again now; in Cremona I had a really bad feeling. Nothing was working for me, and I crashed twice. A lot of things came together in Cremona – it’s a track I don’t like at all, my worst track. But I came second, not last. On top of that, I was under pressure to win the title in Italy. It was very important to me to clinch it in Italy, in front of the Ducati team, my friends and everyone who’d come to see me. After Cremona, I was happy about the title, but not with my performance. I was thinking about too many things; now I can ride freely. I’ve won the World Championship, and I want to leave this paddock with more victories.”

Bulega improved on Toprak’s pole record from the previous year by a fabulous 0.319 seconds, clocking a time of 1:33.884 for the lap. “That was a very good lap,” the 26-year-old told SPEEDWEEK.com during a meeting in Estoril. “I hadn’t expected to manage a 1:33 min. But when you’re in qualifying mode and the visor goes down, all I see is red. Qualifying is my favourite part of the weekend; it’s when the rider can give it their all in a single lap and push their body to the limit.”

An interesting side note: never before has a Ducati rider qualified for pole position at the Circuito Estoril. Bulega was quick to offer an explanation: “Toprak has always been very strong here; beating him was difficult. I’m the only one who’s managed it.”

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11.10.2026 - 11:55