SBK Most: Nicolò Bulega dominates Race 2 as well—playing cat and mouse?

Nothing has changed, and no one expected it to: Nicolò Bulega swept the board again in the Czech Republic, further extending his phenomenal winning streak.

This Superbike World Championship is nearly at the halfway mark, and each time it gives us the same leading man with a Ducati that, despite the nonsense of this technical regulation, continues to dominate far and wide.

Iker Lecuona is a fine rider—he had already shown that with Honda. But upon arriving at the factory Ducati, he found himself in the clutches of a cannibal. Nicolò beats him every time, in all conditions: wet, dry, even on Assen’s mixed grip. There’s no escape in the Sprint races, nor in the long ones. It must be frustrating to be as fast as Iker and never win. “Let’s see if anything changes this afternoon,” Lecuona promised after the defeat he suffered in the morning’s Superpole Race. But the more he talks, the worse it gets: Bulega rises to the challenge, opens the throttle, and goes. When the same rider wins every time, it’s natural to wonder how much potential the top dog really has. The lap-by-lap analysis suggests that Bulega is dispatching his rivals with remarkable ease.

Nicolò Bulega is rocketing up the Superbike records. He’s unbeaten in 19 races—the last four of last year plus all 15 of this season. In total he has 35 wins and has a legend like Troy Bayliss, who took 52 on the same Ducati, in his sights. Bulega has 87 starts and has finished on the podium 71 times, like Max Biaggi. Simply monstrous.

Most gave us an identical podium three times in a row, with Yari Montella growing in the shadow of the two factory riders. Music to the ears of the Campanian rider and the Barni team, who on Saturday lost Alvaro Bautista to injury. This time Ducati placed “only” four bikes up front, with the train capped by an excellent fourth from Lorenzo Baldassarri. Credit to Garrett Gerloff who, with the only Kawasaki on track, managed—though not without effort—to snatch fifth place from Alberto Surra, who is gaining solidity over race distance as well. The speed was already there. Obviously we’re talking about rookies, with privateer structures behind them. The two factory men up front are playing a different sport. The bar is becoming too high for Bimota, with Alex Lowes seventh ahead of Axel Bassani. Yamaha’s rough patch continues: Andrea Locatelli found himself in a dogfight with Tommy Bridewell, a Ducati privateer, battling for tenth place, 27 seconds off the lead.

The Superbike World Championship pauses for a week before resuming May 29–31 at MotorLand Aragon in Spain. Unfortunately, there will be another clash with MotoGP, which will be at Mugello for the Italian GP. The ultra-fast Aragon layout also marks the end of the first half of the calendar. The return leg starts in mid-June at Misano. The MotorLand Aragon round is also important because on Monday the Superbike teams will stay at the circuit for the first group test with Michelin tires, the sole supplier starting next season.