Bulega Wins 2026 World Superbike Championship
· Yahoo Sports
Ducati claims the Triple Crown of Rider, Team, and Manufacturer titles
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It's felt like a foregone conclusion for a while, but now it's official: Nicolo Bulega is the 2026 FIM Superbike World Champion. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider only needed a top-five finish in Race 2 at Cremona to seal the title in front of home fans, and second place behind teammate Iker Lecuona did the job with six races still on the calendar.
The stats are simply staggering: Bulega has won 26 of the opening 30 races aboard the Ducati Panigale V4 R, taking runner-up honors in the other four, and he has stood on the podium at every single race this year. He built an all-time win streak of 25 consecutive victories, the four to close out 2025 plus 21 in a row through 2026, nearly doubling the previous record of 13 that Toprak Razgatlioglu set twice. He also strung together ten straight poles counting Jerez 2025, another record, before finally being beaten in the Superpole race at Cremona.
Bulega is now the second Italian to win a WSBK title, joining Max Biaggi, who won championships in 2010 and 2012.
"Finally, another Italian!" Biaggi said to WorldSBK.com. "I was feeling really lonely. Now, with him, I'm feeling much happier. Congrats to him because he's dominated the season and it's good that he's coming to MotoGP after his tremendous year. I can't wait to see him in that Championship."
Bulega is also the only rider ever to hold both the World Supersport and Superbike championships, having taken the WorldSSP title in 2023, again within the same Aruba.it Racing – Ducati structure but on the Panigale V2.
"When I won the [Supersport] title, I started to believe in myself again," Bulega said amid the Cremona celebrations. "When I came to WSBK, I knew it would be difficult, but I found a team that always believed in me from the first race."
Ducati and Aruba.it won the Triple Crown, sweeping the Riders', Teams', and Manufacturers' titles this season, and the marque's 17th Riders' title.
Lecuona capped the weekend with his maiden WSBK hat-trick, topping Superpole and winning both races. The championship now heads to Estoril on October 10-11, and the season closer at Jerez, the following weekend.
2026 World Superbike Standings After 10 Rounds
Pos.
#
Rider
Teaam
Bike
Points
1
11
Nicolo Bulega
Aruba.it Racing - Ducati
Ducati Panigale V4 R
602
2
71
Iker Lecuona
Aruba.it Racing - Ducati
Ducati Panigale V4 R
469
3
5
Yari Montella
Barni Spark Racing Team
Ducati Panigale V4 R
269
4
22
Alex Lowes
bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team
Bimota KB998
226
5
14
Sam Lowes
ELF Marc VDS Racing Team
Ducati Panigale V4 R
219
6
34
Lorenzo Baldassarri
Team Goeleven
Ducati Panigale V4 R
193
7
47
Axel Bassani
bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team
Bimota KB998
184
8
31
Garrett Gerloff
Kawasaki WorldSBK Team
Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR
145
9
67
Alberto Surra
Motocorsa Racing
Ducati Panigale V4 R
140
10
19
Alvaro Bautista
Barni Spark Racing Team
Ducati Panigale V4 R
125
11
55
Andrea Locatelli
Pata Maxus Yamaha
Yamaha YZF-R1
118
12
88
Miguel Oliveira
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
BMW M 1000 RR
109
13
97
Xavi Vierge
Pata Maxus Yamaha
Yamaha YZF-R1
95
14
95
Tarran Mackenzie
MGM Optical Express Racing
Ducati Panigale V4 R
81
15
46
Thomas Bridewel
Superbike Advocates
Ducati Panigale V4 R
66
16
9
Danilo Petrucci
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
BMW M 1000 RR
61
17
87
Remy Gardner
GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
Yamaha YZF-R1
57
18
62
Stefano Manzi
GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
Yamaha YZF-R1
44
19
96
Jake Dixon
Honda HRC
Honda CBR1000RR-R
23
20
60
Michael van der Mark
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team
BMW M 1000 RR
23
21
35
Somkiat Chantra
Honda HRC
Honda CBR1000RR-R
16
22
45
Tetsuta Nagashima
Honda HRC
Honda CBR1000RR-R
7
23
65
Jonathan Rea
Honda HRC
Honda CBR1000RR-R
6
24
54
Bahattin Sofuoglu
Motoxracing WorldSBK Team
Yamaha YZF-R1
4
25
76
Loris Baz
MGM Optical Express Racing
Ducati Panigale V4 R
3
26
13
Mattia Rato
Motoxracing WorldSBK Team
Yamaha YZF-R1
3
27
17
Ryan Vickers
Honda HRC
Honda CBR1000RR-R
1
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