SBK Donington: Iker Lecuona, of all people, ends Nicolo Buelga’s winning streak

In the Superbike class qualifying session at Donington, World Championship leader Nicolo Bulega secured pole position with a new lap record. His Aruba.it team-mate Iker Lecuona once again finished in second place. Barni Ducati rider Yari Montella set the third-fastest time.

The three Ducati riders, who also occupy positions 1 to 3 in the World Championship standings, thus started from the front row in Race 1 in England on Saturday. Starting from the second row were Sam Lowes (Ducati), Xavi Vierge (Yamaha) and Lorenzo Baldassarri (Ducati) started the race from the second row. The third row was made up of Alex Lowes (Bimota), Axel Bassani (Bimota) and Thomas Bridewell (Ducati).

Wildcard rider Jonathan Rea (Honda) secured 10th on the grid in Superpole. The two BMW riders, Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci, started the race from 12th and 13th respectively. Alvaro Bautista had to start from 15th.

Two Ducatis are missing from the starting grid this weekend. Tarran Mackenzie suffered a heavy crash in FP2 on Friday, sustaining serious injuries. Alberto Surra was diagnosed with a mild case of bursitis following Saturday’s FP3. The Italian and Motocorsa team manager Lorenzo Mauri mutually agreed to sit out the rest of the race weekend to avoid unnecessary risks.

For Nicolo Bulega, Race 1 at Donington was all about whether he could secure his 26th consecutive victory. Lecuona got off to the best start. Bulega and Montella settled into second and third place respectively. A few corners later, the two Lowes brothers managed to overtake Montella. Bridewell overtook Vierge and was in sixth. Miguel Oliveira got off to a sensational start – the Portuguese rider surged forward to fourth. Jonathan Rea dropped back to 14th.

By lap 2 of 23, the two Ducati factory riders had already built up a lead of over a second. Bulega set his sights on his team-mates, managed to overtake them, but Lecuona countered immediately.

On lap 3, the lead held by the two Aruba.it riders remained constant, whilst Sam Lowes managed to open up a small gap over his brother Alex. Iker Lecuona set the fastest race lap ever recorded by a Superbike at Donington – beating the previous record set by Toprak Razgatlioglu in 2024.

On the fifth lap, Lecuona and Bulega were locked in a fierce battle for the lead. The Spaniard fought back against his strong team-mate with everything he had. Meanwhile, Montella had worked his way up to fourth place. Oliveira dropped back to 11th. Gerloff (Kawasaki) moved up to 10th.

By lap 6, the gap between the two frontrunners was already over two seconds. Lecuona was still in the lead – he wasn’t prepared to settle for second place yet again. But Bulega was applying the pressure.

On the seventh lap, Gerloff moved up to ninth place by overtaking Xavi Vierge. Montella overtook Sam Lowes and was now third. The Italian felt confident with the new Suter swingarm on his Panigale V4R.

By lap 9, Montella was almost four seconds behind the leading duo.

By the start of lap 11, Lecuona and Bulega’s lead over Montella was already almost five seconds. The pair were once again in a league of their own.

The order at the halfway point of the race: Lecuona, Bulega, Montella, Sam Lowes, Thomas Bridewell, Alex Lowes, Lorenzo Baldassarri, Garrett Gerloff, Axel Bassani and Xavi Vierge. Oliveira was in 11th place, Danilo Petrucci in 13th.

Bulega was right on his team-mate’s tail. The Italian remained calm and bided his time.

With eight laps to go, the leading duo already had a lead of almost six seconds over Montella. Montella, in turn, had built up a two-second cushion over Sam Lowes.

Further back in the field, Gerloff defended his eighth place against Bimota rider Axel Bassani. Ahead of them, Alex Lowes and Baldassarri were battling for sixth place. Sam Lowes and Bridewell were running in fourth and fifth places.

With four laps to go, Baldassarri managed to get past Alex Lowes. The gap between Lecuona and Bulega was just one tenth of a second. Everything pointed to a showdown in the final laps. Jonathan Rea headed for the pits on his Honda – he had retired.

Over the final three laps, Lecuona and Bulega constantly swapped positions. Lecuona gave it everything he had. It was an incredible battle for victory.

On the final lap, Bulega gave it one last go, but Lecuona crossed the finish line 0.165 seconds ahead of his team-mate.