Bulega Breaks WorldSBK Single-Season Win Record With 28th Victory

Bulega Breaks WorldSBK Single-Season Win Record With 28th Victory

Nicolò Bulega moved beyond Álvaro Bautista’s WorldSBK single-season victory record on Sunday at Estoril, winning the Tissot Superpole Race for his 28th victory of 2026. The result turned the 27-win benchmark Bulega matched in Saturday’s Race 1 into a new outright record.

The newly crowned WorldSBK champion started from pole but did not control the opening laps. Aruba.it Racing - Ducati teammate Iker Lecuona launched into the lead at Turn 1 and held first place until a braking mistake at the start of Lap 3 sent him wide. Bulega moved through and never gave the position back.

Bulega finished 0.734 seconds ahead of Lecuona, giving Ducati another one-two result at the Circuito Estoril. Alberto Surra completed the podium for Motocorsa Racing after passing home favourite Miguel Oliveira on the final lap. Oliveira finished fourth for BMW, 0.141 seconds behind Surra.

The win also came with a new Superpole Race lap record. Bulega’s 1:34.525 fastest lap underlined the pace behind the statistic: the record was not created by accumulation alone, but by a rider still pushing the performance ceiling after the championship itself had already been secured.

Bulega clinched the 2026 WorldSBK title at Cremona in September. That removed the main championship pressure from the closing rounds, but his Estoril weekend has shown no sign of a conservative approach. He set a 1:33.884 lap in Saturday qualifying to take pole and establish another circuit benchmark, won Race 1 for victory number 27, then returned Sunday morning to claim number 28.

The previous single-season record belonged to Bautista, who won 27 races in 2023. Comparing totals across seasons always requires context because calendars, formats and technical conditions change, but the achievement remains significant. Bulega has converted an extraordinary share of his 2026 opportunities into wins and has now produced the highest victory total recorded in a WorldSBK season.

For Ducati, the result extends beyond one rider. Lecuona’s second place means both factory Panigale V4 R machines finished at the front of the Superpole Race, while Surra added another Ducati to the podium. The top three therefore came from the same manufacturer, but from two separate teams.

That depth is relevant to Canadian sportbike riders because WorldSBK remains the major international championship most visibly tied to production-based superbikes. The race machines are extensively modified and should not be treated as showroom equivalents, but the championship keeps braking systems, chassis setup, electronics, tire management and track-focused development at the centre of the brand conversation.

Bulega’s record also illustrates the difference between raw qualifying speed and race execution. Lecuona beat him away from the line, and the lead did not change because Bulega forced a desperate pass. Instead, Bulega stayed in range and capitalized immediately when Lecuona ran wide. Once ahead, he controlled the gap and delivered the fastest lap of the race.

Surra’s late move on Oliveira supplied the other major contest. The Portuguese BMW rider had been in position to deliver a home podium, but Surra closed the gap and passed him at Turn 3 on the final lap. The margin at the flag was small enough to show how little separation existed behind the factory Ducatis.

For dealers, the cleanest connection is credibility rather than a direct technical equivalence. A record-setting WorldSBK season gives Ducati retailers a strong performance reference, while BMW, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Honda and Bimota dealers can point to the same championship as a real comparison environment where multiple brands are being pushed at race pace.

The 28th win is now a permanent statistical marker regardless of what happens in the remaining races. Bulega entered Estoril as the 2026 champion and leaves the record books changed. What had been Bautista’s 27-win standard is now behind him, and the combination of pole speed, Race 1 execution and Sunday’s Superpole victory has made the Portuguese round one of the defining weekends of his season.