Superbike Cremona 2026: Bulega closing in on the title, Motoxracing bids farewell to Sofuoglu. This weekend’s TV schedule

Monday, 21 September 2026 at 15:55

Italian Round WorldSBK Cremona Superbike

WorldSBK returns to action for the second Italian round of the calendar, with Bulega ready to lay his hands on the crown: titles could also be awarded in SSP and SPB.

Nicolò Bulega is ready to be crowned the 2026 Superbike World Champion. Next weekend the action is at the Cremona Circuit, and the Aruba.it Ducati rider will have a great opportunity to make his dream come true, closing an important circle in his career before his future move to MotoGP with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 team. He has dominated the season, winning a remarkable 26 out of 27 races, and in the overall standings he holds a 146-point lead over teammate Iker Lecuona. It’s basically done: if it doesn’t happen on Saturday, the coronation will come on Sunday.

Bulega Superbike World Champion at Cremona?

Bulega and Lecuona celebrating in the Aruba Ducati Superbike team garage

Bulega world champion at Cremona?

To be mathematically crowned SBK champion after Race 1, Bulega needs to gain 15 points over Lecuona. That means if the Italian wins the race, the Spaniard would need to finish sixth or worse. If the championship leader finishes second, his teammate would need to place 11th or worse. Looking at a season in which the two have almost always occupied first and second place, the most likely moment for Bulega to get his hands on the world title should be the Superpole Race: if he gains 3 points on Lecuona between Race 1 and the SPR, he can celebrate.

Racing in Italy will give the future MotoGP rider a special boost, but his teammate will do everything to throw a wrench in the works. Last year at the Cremona Circuit the Aruba Ducati number 11 rider took a hat-trick, and he would love to repeat that this weekend. It’s worth recalling that he skipped the MotoGP test at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg (Austria) after a bad crash in another MotoGP test held at Mugello: even though the physical consequences aren’t enough to stop him from racing, the wise decision was made to let him rest ahead of the tenth round of the 2026 Superbike calendar. He might not be at 100%, but we’ll have to wait for Friday’s free practice to get a clearer idea.

SBK, Italian riders on the attack

Obviously, Bulega isn’t the only Italian rider looking to shine in Lombardy. The one most tipped for the podium is Yari Montella, third in the overall SBK standings and a fairly regular presence on the third step of the rostrum. The Barni Spark Racing Team rider wants to further consolidate his third place in the championship and will give his all to put his Ducati Panigale V4 R right at the sharp end.

Other Italian Ducati riders to keep an eye on are Lorenzo Baldassarri of the Go Eleven team and Alberto Surra of the Motocorsa team, while at Bimota there’s an Axel Bassani determined to bounce back after a lackluster round at Magny-Cours. Andrea Locatelli with Yamaha and Danilo Petrucci with BMW are also eager to achieve positive results, both disappointed with their 2026 Superbike campaigns. Rookies Stefano Manzi and Mattia Rato will also try to do their best at the Cremona Circuit.

Yamaha Motoxracing parts ways with Sofuoglu: here’s the replacement

Just days before track action begins, the Yamaha Motoxracing team announced that Bahattin Sofuoglu will no longer be on one of the two R1s in the garage for the final three rounds of the season. His place will be taken by Twan Smits, a Dutch rider arriving from Euro Moto (formerly IDM), where he sits third in the overall Superbike standings. He has already made his World Championship debut as a wild card at the TT Circuit Assen round in 2026.

Sandro Carusi, team principal of Yamaha Motoxracing, explained Sofuoglu’s departure as follows: "In agreement with Kenan Sofuoglu, we have let him seize an opportunity that I hope will be important for his future." In fact, the Turkish rider will continue to race, but he will do so in the Supersport World Championship with the QJMOTOR Factory Racing Team, replacing Marcos Ramirez.

Bahattin has already raced in WorldSSP between 2022 and 2024, so this is a return, although getting on the QJMOTOR will mean learning and adapting. His SBK experience, which began in 2025 with Yamaha Motoxracing, did not bring particular joy; taking a step back could prove to be the best choice for his career.

Supersport and Sportbike world titles also up for grabs at Cremona

Albert Arenas arrives in Cremona as the Supersport points leader with a 70-point advantage over Valentine Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing). With 100 points still available in 2026, the AS BLU CRU Racing Team rider can win the title in Race 2 if over the weekend he gains 31 points on Debise, 6 on Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), and if across the two races he doesn’t lose points to Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura). It won’t be easy, but Arenas still aims to increase his lead over his rivals and put himself ever closer to being crowned SSP world champion in his rookie year in the class.

The Sportbike world crown could also be awarded at the Cremona Circuit, which hosts the penultimate round of the 2026 program in Italy. The points leader is David Salvador of Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI, whose advantage over Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki) is 30 points. To be crowned world champion in Race 2, he must gain a total of 20 or 21 points (depending on his rival’s results) over Artigas, not lose points to teammate Antonio Torres, and lose at most 24 points to Carter Thompson (Team BrCorse) across the two races.

Superbike, Supersport and Sportbike: timetable

The Cremona Circuit round will be broadcast live on TV by Sky Sport MotoGP. For live streaming, Sky Go and NOW are available. Free-to-air channel TV8 and the official website TV8.it will broadcast only Superbike Race 2 live, while Race 1 and the Superpole Race will be shown on delay, at 18:45 on Saturday and 14:40 on Sunday respectively. Below are the weekend times.

Friday, September 25, 2026