Ducati rolls on at Most as Bulega beats Lecuona + WorldSSP/SPB

Round Four – Most – Saturday

WorldSBK Race One

Nicolo Bulega had to work harder than usual for his latest WorldSBK victory at Most, but the result was the same as every other race so far in 2026: another win for the championship leader and another Aruba.it Racing Ducati one-two.

The Aruba.it Ducati squad celebrates another Bulega-Lecuona one-two after WorldSBK Race 1 at Most.

Bulega first did the business in Superpole, lowering the Most lap record to 1m29.616s and claiming his fifth pole from five rounds this season. Ducati locked out the top five on the grid, with Yari Montella and Iker Lecuona joining Bulega on the front row, ahead of Sam Lowes and Alberto Surra.

The Saturday story had already taken a significant turn before Race 1. Alvaro Bautista crashed late in FP3 at Turn 20 and was declared unfit for the remainder of the Czech Round with right foot injuries, removing the Barni Spark Ducati rider from the weekend.

Medical crews attend to Danilo Petrucci after his opening-lap Turn 13 crash in WorldSBK Race 1 at Most.

Race 1 then barely had time to settle before it was stopped. Danilo Petrucci crashed heavily at Turn 13 on the opening lap, bringing out the red flag. The ROKiT BMW rider was taken to the medical centre and later ruled out for the rest of the round after hospital checks confirmed a fracture of the coccyx.

Danilo Petrucci’s damaged BMW is recovered after the opening-lap crash that brought out the red flag in WorldSBK Race 1.

The restarted race was run over 21 laps, with Bulega leading away from pole ahead of Montella and Lecuona. Montella held second in the early laps, but Lecuona moved past at Turn 1 on lap four and immediately began to bring himself into range of his team-mate.

Nicolo Bulega leads the WorldSBK field away at Most, with Yari Montella and Iker Lecuona giving chase.

What followed was the best straight fight Bulega has had all season. The championship leader led the first 14 laps, but Lecuona stayed close enough to apply constant pressure and was particularly strong under brakes into Turn 1.

Iker Lecuona leads Nicolo Bulega during the closing stages of a proper factory Ducati scrap at Most.

Bulega made a small mistake at Turn 1 on lap 14 but held the lead. One lap later Lecuona made the move stick at the same corner, taking over at the front and giving the Aruba.it Ducati garage a proper intra-team contest rather than another controlled Bulega escape.

Iker Lecuona and Nicolo Bulega chase grip and lap time through Most, with Ducati still the benchmark despite the latest fuel restriction.

Lecuona led laps 15 through 18, but Bulega regrouped and came back at him into Turn 1 at the start of lap 19. Once back in front, Bulega managed the final three laps with enough precision to edge clear and take the win by 1.330-seconds.

Nicolo Bulega leads Iker Lecuona through Most during their tense Aruba.it Ducati duel in WorldSBK Race 1.

Bulega later admitted he had not been fully comfortable, particularly in the slower corners, and that a small front brake issue had added another complication at a circuit where braking stability is central to lap time. Lecuona, meanwhile, felt he had used too much rear tyre in the opening phase trying to close the gap, and said he almost crashed twice while trying to stay with Bulega in the closing stages.

The victory extended Bulega’s winning run to 17 races and made it 13 wins from 13 starts so far in 2026. It was also his 33rd career WorldSBK win, moving him level with Troy Corser for eighth on the all-time winners list, and extended his all-time record podium streak to 26 races.

Iker Lecuona and Nicolo Bulega celebrate another Aruba.it Ducati one-two after their best head-to-head fight of the season.

Lecuona’s second place continued his own unusual run. The Spaniard has now taken ten consecutive second places behind Bulega, while Aruba.it Ducati has recorded ten straight Bulega-Lecuona one-two finishes.

Montella completed the podium for Barni Spark Ducati, making it another Ducati sweep of the rostrum. The Italian had the speed to run with the factory pair early, but as the race distance built he struggled with movement from the bike and eventually settled into a lonely third, well clear of the chasing group but unable to respond to Bulega and Lecuona.

Yari Montella, Nicolo Bulega and Iker Lecuona celebrate an all-Ducati WorldSBK Race 1 podium at Most.

Behind the podium fight, Garrett Gerloff converted his strong weekend speed into fourth for Kawasaki. It was his best result since finishing third at Aragon in 2024, and his best finish since joining the Kawasaki WorldSBK Team.

Garrett Gerloff, Alberto Surra, Axel Bassani and Lorenzo Baldassarri were part of the fight behind the Ducati podium trio in WorldSBK Race 1.

Axel Bassani was fifth for bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team, continuing the promising tone he had shown through practice and qualifying. It was Bassani’s best result since his second place at Phillip Island earlier in the season. Lorenzo Baldassarri finished sixth for Team GoEleven Ducati, with Alex Lowes recovering from 14th on the grid to seventh on the second Bimota.

Stefano Manzi leads Andrea Locatelli and Xavi Vierge in a Yamaha battle during WorldSBK Race 1 at Most.

Andrea Locatelli was the leading Yamaha rider in eighth, while Surra finished ninth after serving a Long Lap Penalty for his part in the incident that ended Sam Lowes’ race. Lowes had passed Surra at Turn 15 in the fight for fourth, only for Surra to try to respond immediately at Turn 16. Contact sent Lowes down and out, and the stewards judged Surra responsible for causing the crash.

Stefano Manzi completed the top ten for GYTR GRT Yamaha. Remy Gardner also scored points for the same squad, finishing 15th after a late run to the flag that left him only 0.006-seconds behind Michael van der Mark.

WorldSBK Race One Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	N. Bulega	Duc	31m55.741	300.0
2	I. Lecuona	Duc	+1.330	302.5
3	Y. Montella	Duc	+11.222	295.2
4	G. Gerloff	Kaw	+14.094	300.0
5	A. Bassani	Bim	+14.568	298.4
6	L. Baldassarri	Duc	+15.168	300.0
7	A. Lowes	Bim	+22.584	299.2
8	A. Locatelli	Yam	+23.957	297.6
9	A. Surra	Duc	+25.637	298.4
10	S. Manzi	Yam	+27.500	297.6
11	T. Mackenzie	Duc	+28.349	299.2
12	X. Vierge	Yam	+28.378	300.0
13	T. Bridewell	Duc	+28.387	298.4
14	M. van der Mark	BMW	+31.510	296.8
15	R. Gardner	Yam	+31.516	297.6
16	B. Sofuoglu	Yam	+39.309	297.6
17	S. Chantra	Hon	+47.932	296.8
18	M. Rato	Yam	+48.660	292.8
Not Classified
RET	Y. Kunii	Hon	–	293.6
RET	S. Lowes	Duc	–	296.0
RET	D. Petrucci	BMW	–	299.2

WorldSBK Superpole Times

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Gap

Max

1	N. Bulega	Duc	1m29.616		298.4
2	Y. Montella	Duc	1m29.896	+0.280	296.0
3	I. Lecuona	Duc	1m30.111	+0.495	300.0
4	S. Lowes	Duc	1m30.339	+0.723	294.4
5	A. Surra	Duc	1m30.388	+0.772	296.0
6	G. Gerloff	Kaw	1m30.417	+0.801	296.8
7	A. Bassani	Bim	1m30.467	+0.851	293.6
8	L. Baldassarri	Duc	1m30.493	+0.877	296.0
9	D. Petrucci	BMW	1m30.671	+1.055	299.2
10	S. Manzi	Yam	1m30.758	+1.142	295.2
11	X. Vierge	Yam	1m30.836	+1.220	296.8
12	M. van der Mark	BMW	1m30.843	+1.227	296.8
13	T. Mackenzie	Duc	1m30.915	+1.299	294.4
14	A. Locatelli	Yam	1m30.957	+1.341	294.4
15	A. Lowes	Bim	1m31.092	+1.476	294.4
16	T. Bridewell	Duc	1m31.174	+1.558	296.0
17	B. Sofuoglu	Yam	1m31.209	+1.593	291.2
18	R. Gardner	Yam	1m31.373	+1.757	292.0
19	M. Rato	Yam	1m31.960	+2.344	292.0
20	S. Chantra	Hon	1m32.028	+2.412	296.0
21	Y. Kunii	Hon	1m33.085	+3.469	292.0

WorldSSP Race One

Valentin Debise turned a penalised grid position into victory in WorldSSP Race 1 at Most, taking the ZXMOTO 820RR to its fourth win of its rookie World Supersport season.

Debise had been third fastest in Superpole but started sixth after a three-place grid penalty for slow riding in Free Practice. That left him with work to do, but also placed him just close enough to the front group to let the early Yamaha fight unfold ahead of him.

Lucas Mahias leads the early WorldSSP Race 1 fight at Most, with Can Oncu, Roberto Garcia and eventual winner Valentin Debise close behind.

Lucas Mahias made the better start and led the opening lap, before pole-sitter Can Oncu took over for laps two to four. Albert Arenas then hit the front for laps five and six, with Roberto Garcia also briefly leading on lap seven as the front group continually shuffled.

Debise then moved to the lead on lap eight and, from there, the tone of the race changed. The Frenchman was not able to disappear, but he did have enough pace and composure to control the rhythm while Oncu and Arenas remained close behind.

Albert Arenas leads the WorldSSP pack at Most, the championship leader later finishing third behind Valentin Debise and Can Oncu.

The podium was still covered by less than a second at the flag, but Debise had saved enough to make the final lap count. He set a new WorldSSP race lap record of 1m34.336s on the last lap, giving himself the small break he needed to secure victory by 0.639-seconds.

Debise said afterwards that patience had been central to the result, particularly as ZXMOTO worked with a new tyre across the weekend. He expected the Yamaha riders to fight among themselves early, and once he found himself at the front, he was able to settle into a rhythm and protect the win.

Valentin Debise takes the chequered flag at Most, giving ZXMOTO another WorldSSP victory in its rookie season.

Oncu finished second for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing, continuing his strong recent run with a fourth consecutive podium. It was not the conversion from pole he wanted, but it was still another important haul after his record-breaking Superpole performance on Friday.

Arenas completed the podium for AS BLU CRU Yamaha and strengthened his championship position with another controlled ride. The Spaniard did not have quite enough in the closing laps to attack Debise, but third place ensured he limited the damage against a race-winning rival while still finishing ahead of Jaume Masia.

Masia had started from the fourth row and spent much of the race working through traffic. Fourth was a useful salvage job for the Orelac Racing Ducati rider, particularly on a day when Arenas again reached the podium and Debise took maximum points.

Mahias finished fifth after leading the opening lap, while Oli Bayliss delivered a strong sixth for PTR Triumph. The Australian had started from the second row after Debise’s penalty reshuffled the grid, and while he could not quite stay with the podium trio over the full race distance, he remained the leading Triumph rider at the flag.

Matteo Ferrari, Filippo Farioli, Philipp Oettl and Simon Jespersen rounded out the top ten, with Jespersen beating Alessandro Zaccone by just 0.007-seconds in a tight finish to that group.

Garcia had been one of the major players in the first half of the race and briefly led on lap seven, but a technical problem ended his challenge with five laps remaining. Tom Booth-Amos also had a costly Race 1, crashing at Turn 1 in the early stages before eventually finishing 26th, while Aldi Mahendra crashed at Turn 10 and finished a lap down.

WorldSSP Race One Results

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Gap

Speed

1	V. Debise	ZXM	30m08.886	262.1
2	C. Oncu	Yam	+0.639	259.0
3	A. Arenas	Yam	+0.877	260.8
4	J. Masia	Duc	+1.760	263.3
5	L. Mahias	Yam	+1.865	260.8
6	O. Bayliss	Tri	+5.279	262.1
7	M. Ferrari	Duc	+7.696	267.2
8	F. Farioli	Yam	+9.294	263.3
9	P. Oettl	Duc	+14.115	267.2
10	S. Jespersen	Duc	+14.120	265.2
11	A. Zaccone	Duc	+14.127	267.2
12	F. Caricasulo	ZXM	+14.462	263.3
13	J. Alcoba	Kaw	+14.550	262.1
14	O. Vostatek	Tri	+14.659	265.9
15	J. Whatley	Duc	+21.457	263.3
16	C. Perolari	Hon	+22.439	260.2
17	R. De Rosa	QJM	+22.493	263.3
18	D. Aegerter	Kaw	+23.210	265.2
19	Y. Okamoto	Yam	+25.067	263.3
20	O. Konig	Tri	+25.201	262.7
21	M. Ramirez	QJM	+26.710	263.9
22	M. Casadei	Duc	+26.869	265.2
23	X. Cardelus	Yam	+29.363	260.2
24	B. Jimenez	Duc	+30.563	262.1
25	L. Taccini	Duc	+32.565	265.2
26	T. Booth-Amos	Tri	+41.639	266.5
27	J. Cretaro	MVA	+43.073	258.4
28	A. Giombini	MVA	+46.269	259.6
29	R. Rossi	Duc	+55.327	259.0
30	A. Carrasco	Hon	+55.370	258.4
31	A. Mahendra	Yam	+1 Lap	260.8
Not Classified
RET	R. Garcia	Yam	–	261.4
RET	A. Kofler	Yam	–	262.1

WorldSPB Race One

Matteo Vannucci claimed his first WorldSPB victory in a dramatic Race 1 at Most, recovering from a late mistake to beat Jeffrey Buis by just 0.059-seconds.

Vannucci started from the middle of the front row and made the launch count, beating pole-sitter David Salvador into Turn 1 and taking control of the race from the outset. The Revo-M2 Aprilia rider led the first ten laps, but he was never able to properly break the lead group.

Salvador, Antonio Torres, Loris Veneman, Xavi Artigas, Fenton Seabright and Buis all spent time in the lead battle, with the first six riders covered by roughly a second for much of the race. It was the sort of WorldSPB contest where a single missed gear or half-metre wide line could reshuffle the podium.

That almost happened to Vannucci. After leading most of the race, the Italian hit a false neutral late in the contest and lost enough momentum to bring the chasers back into play. Buis, who had started only 11th, briefly led on lap 11 and looked capable of stealing the win after carving his way through the pack.

Vannucci responded with an excellent final lap, reclaiming the advantage and holding on to take both his first win of the 2026 campaign and Aprilia’s first WorldSPB win of the season. He later said the race had felt strong from the front, but that the false neutral forced him to recover quickly and attack again rather than simply protect track position.

Buis finished second, only 0.059-seconds behind, after another determined ride from the fourth row. The Suzuki rider’s late charge also cut Salvador’s championship lead to just a single point.

Salvador completed the podium, but only after a huge final-lap moment through the Turn 15-16 chicane. The Team ProDina Kawasaki rider somehow held the bike up on his elbow, gathered it back together, and still had enough composure to beat team-mate Torres to the final podium position by just 0.014-seconds.

Torres was fourth, with Veneman fifth and Artigas sixth, the top six covered by barely more than one second at the flag. Seabright finished seventh as the leading Triumph rider, ahead of Bruno Ieraci, who recorded the fastest lap of the race to set a new race lap record.

Ferre Fleerackers and Benat Fernandez completed the top ten, while Kas Beekmans faded to 11th after starting from the second row.

Australian Carter Thompson’s race was over almost before it began. The Team BrCorse Yamaha rider had qualified ninth, but was caught up in the Turn 10 incident on the opening lap involving several riders. Thompson rejoined, entered the pit lane, and retired soon after. Fellow Australian Taiyo Aksu brought the PATA AG Motorsport Italia Yamaha home 20th.

The race had already been messy before the lights went out, with incidents on the warm-up lap and then further trouble on the opening lap. Elia Bartolini was given two Long Lap Penalties for irresponsible riding after causing a crash during the warm-up lap, while Gonzalo Sanchez also received two Long Lap Penalties for a jump start.

WorldSPB Race One Results

Pos

Rider

Bike

Time/Gap

Speed

1	M. Vannucci	Apr	30n08.886	228.8
2	J. Buis	Suz	+0.059	230.2
3	D. Salvador	Kaw	+0.936	220.9
4	A. Torres	Kaw	+0.950	226.9
5	L. Veneman	Kaw	+1.013	230.2
6	X. Artigas	Kaw	+1.024	–
7	F. Seabright	Tri	+1.176	231.2
8	B. Ieraci	Tri	+1.324	226.9
9	F. Fleerackers	Suz	+4.444	228.3
10	B. Fernandez	Kov	+4.503	224.1
11	K. Beekmans	Suz	+11.173	223.6
12	A. Fuertes	Kaw	+11.208	229.2
13	F. Mulya	Yam	+15.179	226.9
14	E. Bartolini	Tri	+15.191	227.3
15	A. Agaska	Yam	+15.537	226.9
16	M. Gennai	Yam	+16.655	226.9
17	J. Correa	Kaw	+25.159	226.4
18	G. Sanchez	Yam	+27.191	229.2
19	H. Maier	Yam	+27.206	222.7
20	T. Aksu	Yam	+27.356	225.0
21	M. Gaggi	Yam	+30.273	220.0
22	T. Benetti	Apr	+35.291	227.8
23	A. Di Persio	Yam	+35.292	224.5
24	G. Cazard	Yam	+35.371	227.3
25	I. Peristeras	Apr	+38.227	225.5
26	T. Alonso	Yam	+49.441	222.3
27	J. Risueno	Kaw	+58.404	213.6
28	H. Dessoy	Tri	+1’11.037	218.7
29	T. Sovicka	Yam	+1’24.151	216.1
RET	M. Sorrenti	Apr	–	224.1
RET	C. Thompson	Yam	–	173.5
RET	J. Osuna	Kaw	–	223.6

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2026 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship calendar

Date	Country	Circuit	WorldSBK	WorldSSP	WorldSPB
20-22 Feb	AUS	Phillip Island GP	X	X
27-29 Mar	POR	Portimao	X	X	X
17-19 Apr	NED	TT Assen	X	X	X
1-3 May	HUN	Balaton Park	X	X
15-17 May	CZE	Most	X	X	X
29-31 May	ESP	MotorLand Aragon	X	X	X
12-14 Jun	ITA	Misano – Marco Simoncelli	X	X	X
10-12 Jul	UK	Donington Park	X	X
4-6 Sep	FRA	Nevers Magny-Cours	X	X	X
25-27 Sep	ITA	Cremona	X	X	X
9-11 Oct	POR	Estoril	X	X
16-18 Oct	ESP	Jerez – Angel Nieto*	X	X	X

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2026 World Superbike Championship Entry List

Rider	Bike	Team
I.Lecuona	Duc	Aruba.It Ducati
N.Bulega	Duc	Aruba.It Ducati
D.Petrucci	BMW	ROKiT BMW Motorrad
M.Oliveira	BMW	ROKiT BMW Motorrad
A.Locatelli	Yam	Pata Maxus Yamaha
X.Vierge	Yam	Pata Maxus Yamaha
Y.Montella	Duc	Barni Spark
A.Bautista	Duc	Barni Spark
A.Lowes	Bim	bimota by Kawasaki
A.Bassani	Bim	bimota by Kawasaki
S.Chantra	Hon	Honda HRC
J.Dixon	Hon	Honda HRC
S.Manzi	Yam	GYTR GRT Yamaha
R.Gardner	Yam	GYTR GRT Yamaha
S.Lowes	Duc	ELF Marc VDS
L.Baldassarri	Duc	Goeleven
T.Mackenzie	Duc	MGM Racing
G.Gerloff	Kaw	Kawasaki WorldSBK
A.Surra	Duc	Motocorsa
M.Rato	Yam	Motoxracing
B.Sofuoglu	Yam	Motoxracing
A.Iannone	Duc	Cainam Racing

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