Nicolò Bulega is unstoppable: he always wins—who will stop the master of Superbike?

Nicolò Bulega dominates Portimão and scores his second hat-trick of the season: who will be able to stop him in the Superbike World Championship?

The Superbike World Championship is a one-way street. Under the unmistakable mark of Nicolò Bulega. After the overwhelming hat-trick at Phillip Island, the Aruba.it Racing Ducati standard-bearer repeated the feat in the same fashion at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão. On one of the most demanding tracks on the calendar, NB11 pulled off yet another hat-trick, further consolidating his personal lead in the championship. Without three-time World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, who moved to MotoGP, he objectively seems to have no competitors left. With a stratospheric pace, who will be able to trouble the Ducati rider as 2026 progresses?

The question, legitimate, arises spontaneously in light of what emerged in the first two outings of the season. Six races contested so far, six wins with a margin, ten consecutive victories considering the four achieved at the end of 2025, leading the overall standings with maximum points. Reading these numbers, there’s really little to add. As has happened with other illustrious predecessors, Nicolò Bulega is carving an insurmountable gap from the rest of the field. An undisputed supremacy that has the Superbike World Championship buzzing.

And to think that the appointment on the Algarve’s ups and downs hadn’t started off on the right foot. “A fantastic Sunday at the culmination of a weekend that was less straightforward than expected,” admitted Nicolò Bulega, today’s winner of the Superpole Race and Race 2. “My feeling wasn’t optimal in Friday’s practice; I couldn’t push the way I wanted. We had to work hard with the team, doing things we’d never done before to understand what wasn’t working. In the end we found a solution, today I felt great.”

The new version of the Panigale V4 R, with the double-sided swingarm, did cause a few headaches. “It’s part of the game considering we have a new bike. Still competitive, but different in behavior compared to last year,” explained the 2023 Supersport World Champion. Good thing there’s still something left to fine-tune...

With Nicolò Bulega in a state of grace, will the signs of growth shown by his teammate Iker Lecuona and by Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) be enough to keep alive a championship that already looks wrapped up? NB11 watches closely. “Iker is a very strong rider who deserves to be on the podium. This year he’s riding the benchmark bike in the class and therefore has the chance to express his full potential. Miguel has also proven to be fast; both have done an excellent job. Not just those two—over the next races I expect other riders to join the fray.” A hope shared by many—insiders, fans, and enthusiasts alike.