Bulega will be Superbike champion: the redemption of a rider ready to impress in MotoGP as well

Lecuona tried to put pressure on him, he answered like a champion and then crushed him: Bulegas is now one step away from winning his first WorldSBK title.

Nicolò Bulega isn’t tired of winning and dishing out thrashings to his rivals, starting with his teammate Iker Lecuona. The Spaniard gave it everything to fight him and beat him, asked his crew chief to make changes to his Ducati Panigale V4 R to try a different path that might give him an edge, but the outcome didn’t change.

If in Race 1 and the Superpole Race the former Honda rider had been able to get past the Italian off the start, only to then give way, in Race 2 he was overwhelmed from the lights: a total KO, one of those that leaves you hungry. In twenty-seven races contested in the 2026 Superbike World Championship, Bulegas has won twenty-six. The other one (Race 1 at Donington Park) went to Lecuona himself, who is certainly frustrated by the fresh defeats suffered in France.

The Emilia-born rider has extended his points lead over his teammate to 146, which means that at the next round at the Cremona Circuit (September 27–29) he can fulfill the dream of being crowned WorldSBK champion. He only needs to finish the weekend with a margin of at least 124 points over Lecuona to seal the deal. This means he can afford to lose up to a maximum of 22 points to the Spaniard and that, regardless of the latter’s results, he only needs to collect 40 points (with Iker winning every time) to reach the goal.

If Bulega wins Race 1, Lecuona will need to finish at least fifth to prevent his teammate from celebrating already on Saturday. Given how this Superbike season is going, with the two Aruba Ducati riders always 1st and 2nd, the feeling is that the coronation will come on Sunday.

Winning the title now seems a formality for Nicolò, who is about to close an important circle in his career. He arrived in the WorldSBK paddock in 2022 after years of disappointment in the MotoGP World Championship, with his career seriously at risk. He restarted from the Supersport World Championship by embracing the Aruba Ducati project and riding the new Panigale V2. A smart choice: he joined a top-level team, had a competitive bike, and got back to enjoying himself and achieving positive results.

He relaunched himself on every front and in 2023 he was crowned SSP world champion. The Aruba Ducati team promoted him to Superbike in 2024, he won his debut race at Phillip Island and was runner-up for two years, losing only to a phenomenal Toprak Razgatlioglu. In 2026, with the new Panigale V4 R, he has totally dominated and is on the verge of putting the title in the cabinet before moving up to MotoGP.

His move to the premier class will come at an ideal time. In 2027 there will be new technical regulations and a new tire supplier (Pirelli), and this year he has already tested for Ducati with the Desmosedici with an 850cc engine, so he won’t be taking a leap in the dark (that’s what Razgatlioglu did by deciding to jump onto the Yamaha M1 in 2026).

Bulega will debut in a MotoGP that features major changes, with all manufacturers having to almost start from scratch with their technical projects. A scenario that should give Nicolò the chance to show his worth when he’s riding the Ducati of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 team. Doing well in the top class would be a beautiful redemption story, considering the years of disappointment in Moto3 and Moto2. A total redemption.