SBK: The 2026 season finale in Jerez—will Lecuona spoil Bulega’s farewell? Weekend TV schedule

Friday, 16 October 2026 at 07:52

Nicolo Bulega Iker Lecuona team Aruba Ducati Superbike WorldSBK

Aruba Ducati team riders are expected to be the two main contenders once again in the final round of the SBK season: will there be a fierce battle in Spain?

The 2026 Superbike World Championship is drawing to a close, and there is little left to fight for at the season finale in Jerez. The title has already gone to Nicolò Bulega, who will be competing in his final weekend as a rider in the category in Andalusia, before MotoGP awaits him. He would like to enjoy a strong finish, even though he has already achieved what he set out to do. His teammate Iker Lecuona will try to get in his way and “spoil” his final WorldSBK round.

Superbike, Jerez is not Lecuona’s best track

Lecuona is pleased to have reached the end of this Superbike World Championship, his first with the Aruba.it Racing Ducati team: "I’m excited to wrap up a fantastic season for me and my team. We didn’t expect to perform this well, although I would still have liked more; many times, I wasn’t particularly happy with finishing second. But, honestly, it has been almost a perfect season: I’ve had just one crash, at Donington, and it taught me a lot".

The Spanish rider’s past results at Jerez have not been the best, but things could be very different on the Panigale V4 R in 2026: "For me, it will be a difficult weekend, because I’ve always struggled a lot at Jerez. I’ve had some serious injuries at this track. My first big crash was at Turn 12 during the final IRTA test with Moto2. I crashed at the same corner during my first Superbike test, too, and broke my hand. Later, I also crashed at Turn 6, although it wasn’t my fault, and broke my foot. I’ve had some nasty crashes and injuries at Jerez; it’s not my best track. We’ll see what we can achieve".

He does not want to start out defeated, but Iker admits that beating Bulega will take an extra effort: "I don’t want to say it will be impossible, because nothing is impossible, but it will be even more difficult than at Estoril. We’ll be racing on a track he loves and where he’s very fast, whereas I don’t like it. We’re starting from different places. It will be tough, but I’ll do my best. We’ll see if we can find something on the bike to stay with him".

Asked what score he would give himself for his 2026 Superbike season, the former Honda HRC rider does not hesitate: "I’d give myself a 9. I can’t say 10, because of the round in Australia, the crash at Donington and the races at Misano, where I could have done better. Still, I only crashed once; I knew when to push and didn’t need to take extra risks like I used to. I’ve learned a lot, improved a lot and worked well with the team".