SBK Magny-Cours: Bulega utterly dominant, but what a bore this World Championship is!

Nicolò Bulega is a formidable rider and next year he will be fast in MotoGP as well. His wins in Superbike have long since stopped being news, but Race 2 at Magny-Cours was even flatter than the previous ones. With a rocket start he immediately took the lead and was never seen again.

He had to sweat it out (so to speak...) even less than expected because the red flag ended the contest two laps early due to Tommy Bridewell’s crash with the usual damage to the safety cushions: rider OK. This time we didn’t see the fleeting overtakes that Iker Lecuona sometimes treats us to, only to let go every time the stronger Ducati rider decides that’s enough. The gaps between Bulega and his rivals are measured with an hourglass, and Ducati is practically racing on its own: this time there were six in single file under the checkered flag.

There have been historical periods dominated by a single rider, the first being Carl Fogarty in the ’90s. The usual suspect often won, but the races were fiercely fought. There was pathos, rivalry, allure, and an identity in which millions of fans recognized themselves. Superbike was unique, and the key to its success was to differentiate itself as much as possible from MotoGP. Now, by constantly aping the top class, it’s as if all of that has evaporated. Bulega racks up triumphs, but boredom is the real winner.

In the absence of on-track spectacle, all that’s left is to be enlightened by the numbers. Nicolò Bulega has competed in 99 Superbike races, winning 46 of them: an almost unreal percentage. He has also finished on the podium 83 times, missing it only sixteen times in total. This year’s numbers are staggering: 26 wins in 27 races, with the worst result being the sole second place at Zeltweg. Adding the four triumphs at the tail end of the ’25 season, Bulega has 30 wins in his last 31 appearances. Naturally, Ducati’s stats shine as well; in this 2026 season it has had no rivals. The Red bike has won 31 consecutive races, just six short of rewriting the longest winning streak ever: there’s no doubt it will happen.

Nicolò Bulega has set the table for a kingly September. In the coming days his move to MotoGP with the VR46 team’s Ducati 850 will be announced. On September 10 he’ll be busy with a test day in Cremona, with almost all World Superbike teams taking part. In three weeks (September 25–27) the tenth round of the Championship will be held on the same Lombardy circuit: for Bulega it’s the second match point to wrap things up well in advance. After that, two rounds will remain on the Iberian Peninsula (Estoril and Jerez), but they risk being mere formality.

Superbike today is a championship without direction, and it’s a shame especially for guys like Yari Montella, who scored a double podium on the day, and also Lorenzo Baldassarri and Alberto Surra, who finished behind the excellent rider from Campania. In another era they would have become big names; today their moment of glory lasts only the fleeting moments of parc fermé and the podium. The old lion Alvaro Bautista also made it to the end in sixth: maybe if they hadn’t stuck six kilos of ballast on his bike, he’d still be giving us a show. Penalizing a three-time World Champion who at 41 is still twisting the throttle, for the sole crime of being small and light. Go figure...

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