SBK, Bulega makes his move: Biaggi and Melandri in his sights

Bulega is the hot favorite to win the 2026 Superbike World Championship: he can reach a historic milestone.

Toprak Razgatlioglu’s move to MotoGP opens the door wide for Nicolò Bulega, who, after finishing runner-up in 2024 and 2025, will have a greater chance of becoming the new king of SBK in 2026. The Emilia-born rider will have a new Ducati Panigale V4 R in his hands, and we’ll also have to see if the new machine from Bologna will be immediately competitive, but the feeling is that he’ll be the man to beat.

Some foresee a one-man show, with a championship dominated by Bulegas, but there are plenty on the Superbike grid who will do everything to give him a hard time. First up is his new teammate Iker Lecuona, who, by joining the Aruba Ducati garage, has the “opportunity of a lifetime” to consistently fight for podiums and wins.

Bulega has put together 20 wins over two years in WorldSBK and is the third most successful Italian in the history of the class. Ahead of him are Max Biaggi (21) and Marco Melandri (22). In 2026 he should be able to surpass both and become number 1 in this statistic.

Unlike the rider from Emilia, Biaggi could never count on the Superpole Race (introduced in 2019): his Superbike era was the two-race-per-weekend format. Melandri, on the other hand, only had three races per round available in the final two years of his career in the class. In MotoGP, sprint race victories are not added to long-race wins, and some believe it should have been the same in SBK.

A different choice was made, and Bulega seems destined to become the most successful Italian. Unlike Melandri, who never won the title, Biaggi was Superbike world champion twice and so far is the only Italian to have done so. Nicolò aims to become the second in 2026. We’ll see if he achieves his goal.