SBK Estoril, Race 2: Bulega Takes It All, Surra Is Getting the Hang of It, Bautista Desperate
Superbike
Historic success for the future VR46 MotoGP rider, who once again defeated his teammate. Bautista “gifts” the podium to Surra.
The Superbike round at Estoril ended with Nicolò Bulega’s victory in Race 2. After triumphing in Race 1 and the Superpole Race as well, the 2026 world champion defeated teammate Iker Lecuona once again. Yet another one-two finish for the Aruba Ducati team in this fantastic season. For the rider from Emilia, it was his 29th win of the season, a record that further cements his place in the history of the category.
Estoril WorldSBK: Bulega beats Lecuona in Race 2 as well
At the start, Lecuona rocketed past Bulega, who responded during the very first lap to retake the lead. The two Ducati riders immediately opened up a significant gap over the rest of the field, but there was no battle. Iker tried to stay with his teammate, hoping to attack him later, but at one point he lost ground and had to settle for a second place that was positive nonetheless.
Although he has already secured the world title, Bulega is still hungry for victories and wants to end his experience in the World Superbike Championship on a high before making the leap to MotoGP. At Cremona, he had suffered three defeats at the hands of Lecuona; in Portugal, he responded like a champion.
Surra back on the podium, Montella crowned best independent rider of 2026
The Race 2 WorldSBK podium at Estoril was completed by Alberto Surra, who had already claimed the podium in Race 1 and the Superpole Race and repeated the feat in the final race. The Motocorsa team rookie has clearly developed a taste for it after securing his first podium at the previous round at the Cremona Circuit.
Yari Montella finished behind Surra and, also thanks to Alex Lowes’ crash, was crowned the best independent Superbike rider of 2026. After the Barni Racing Team secured the title of best independent team for the third consecutive year, it was another reason for team owner Marco Barnabò to celebrate.
Bautista throws away a podium, Bassani finishes in the top five
There was also some disappointment in the Barni garage over Alvaro Bautista’s crash. He was third when, with five laps remaining in Race 2, he fell at Turn 1 and threw away the chance to return to the podium—perhaps for the last time in his World Superbike career. He was visibly angry and devastated by the mistake.
There were smiles in the Bimota camp as Axel Bassani did a fine job of bringing his KB998 Rimini home in the top five. Lorenzo Baldassarri also performed well on the Go Eleven team’s Ducati. Garrett Gerloff on a Kawasaki, Miguel Oliveira on a BMW, Xavi Vierge on a Yamaha and Jake Dixon on a Honda also finished in the top 10.
Estoril WorldSBK, Race 2: finishing order and final classification
2026 World Superbike Championship: the new rider and manufacturer standings
WORLD SUPERBIKE RIDERS’ STANDINGS
- Nicolò Bulega 664 points
- Iker Lecuona 518 points
- Yari Montella 290 points
- Alex Lowes 237
- Sam Lowes 225
- Lorenzo Baldassarri 214
- Axel Bassani 208
- Alberto Surra 179
- Garrett Gerloff 160
- Alvaro Bautista 137
- Miguel Oliveira 136
- Andrea Locatelli 118
- Xavi Vierge 108
- Tarran Mackenzie 81
- Thomas Bridewell 71
- Remy Gardner 62
- Danilo Petrucci 61
- Stefano Manzi 46
- Jake Dixon 35
- Michael van der Mark 23
- Somkiat Chantra 21
- Tetsuta Nagashima 7
- Jonathan Rea 6
- Bahattin Sofuoglu 4
- Loris Baz 3
- Mattia Rato 3
- Ryan Vickers 1
WORLD SUPERBIKE MANUFACTURERS’ STANDINGS
- Ducati 682 points
- Bimota 294 points
- BMW 178
- Yamaha 175
- Kawasaki 160
- Honda 57
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