Bulega signs off record-breaking reign in Spain

Often, no one could get near enough to him in 2026 to accidentally run him off track, or worse. We have never seen the like in WorldSBK racing.

In Superpole qualifying at a hot Jerez, Bulega did not quite beat his own lap record, but took his 11th pole from 12 attempts in 2026. That one statistic almost tells the story of the season. He has now taken 20 career poles, meaning he leaves for MotoGP just one behind four-time champion Carl Fogarty, and seventh on the all-time list for this particular pre-race show of pace.

Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was third in Superpole, not second, as Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team Ducati) produced another of his special rides. Top non-Ducati rider? Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), in fifth.

The first race, over 20 laps, was slightly unusual in that the perennially up-and-down Sam Lowes was the one trying to hang onto the coattails of Bulega’s new royal vestments. He finished closest to him, in second.

Bulega, of course, won. Thirty up for the year, 50 for the career. At this point.

Lecuona repeated his Superpole result of third. Polite and still jovial in social interactions, he was not as happy as any rider on the podium should be. Not with a privateer bike in front of him. A rare thing in 2026.

Fourth was comeback kid Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team). A faller from a potential podium finish in Portugal last time out, he was on a mission at the closest thing he has to a true home round. He could not get to third, but ninth to fourth was a great result in a race with only two non-finishers: Miguel Oliveira’s BMW and Xavi Vierge’s blown Yamaha, the latter making a fiery exit.

After him… Montella… Surra… Baldassarri… It took until eighth in the finishing order before we hit the first non-Ducati, with Alex Lowes passed by multiple Ducati riders after running fourth on the opening lap.

All the non-factory Ducati riders had different races – dropping back or moving quickly forward – but this was the first race of the year to finish with a running flush of seven Ducatis at the top.

Tommy Bridewell in ninth made it eight in the top nine. Loris Baz in 12th made it nine in the top 12.

The super-hot October weather gave way to lightning flashes and dark clouds among the white ones on Sunday morning. Could wet Sunday races peg back the Ducati dominators?

No, not really, as the Superpole Race finished Bulega, Lecuona and Sam Lowes, in the dry. Yari Montella was fourth and a still-battling Alex Lowes fifth. The Lowes brothers were now locked in a battle for fourth overall: the ‘privateer’ Ducati rider or the factory Bimota one.

Everyone on a Ducati had the potential performance of a factory bike, so the balance was leaning towards Sam. Bautista was playing a hard hand of last-chance-saloon poker, aiming to give himself one final opportunity for a podium. He finished sixth.

In Race Two, Bautista again pushed himself hard to end a Spanish round on the podium, and almost got there. He had stressed his tyres too much to keep the closing Sam Lowes behind him, however, and on the final lap Lowes made his move to complete another triple-podium weekend.

Alex Lowes finished seventh, with Montella and Lorenzo Baldassarri among those ahead of him. His KB998’s special last-round black paint job accompanied a slide from fourth overall going into Jerez to fifth coming out.

Only Ducatis were ahead of him in the final championship rankings: Bulega, Lecuona, Montella and his own brother.

Six Ducatis finished ahead of Alex in a final race that gained an element of uncertainty when light rain arrived in the closing laps. It moved so slowly from sector to sector, however, that it was more of a psychological worry than a real one.

Bulega took his 32nd win of 2026 in a special Paul Smart-inspired silver-grey livery. As he rolled into the winners’ circle and the celebrations began, a torrential downpour engulfed Jerez. The riders sat down for their media duties soaking wet.

Bulega was, as ever, as unfazed as he was unstoppable. He finished with 726 championship points to Lecuona’s 563, Montella’s 318 and Sam Lowes’ 268 – just nine more than Alex.

REMY GARDNER

Remy qualified 17th in Superpole, finished 15th in Race One, 17th in the Superpole Race and 19th in Race Two. He ended 2026 in 16th overall: “It wasn’t an easy Saturday, to be honest. We managed to score a point with a strong push towards the end of the first race, but of course, this isn’t where we want to be. To be honest, we were expecting a little more from our performance on Sunday, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and we struggled too much in both the Superpole Race and the final race of the season. This isn’t how we wanted to end the year, but we have to accept the result and look ahead to the next chapter.”

2026 WorldSBK FINAL STANDINGS