Nicolò Bulega continues to rewrite the World Superbike Championship record books. At the Estoril Circuit in Portugal, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider completed a flawless weekend, winning Race 1, the Superpole Race and Race 2 to bring his total to 29 victories in the 2026 season.
The achievement establishes a new record for the most wins in a single WorldSBK campaign and allows the Italian to surpass another historic milestone: Jonathan Rea’s record for the highest number of championship points scored in one season.
Having already secured the World Championship title at the previous round in Cremona, Bulega once again demonstrated his superiority in Portugal, finishing ahead of teammate Iker Lecuona in both Sunday races.
Alberto Surra completed the podium on both occasions aboard the Motocorsa Racing Ducati. The young Italian delivered two impressive performances, denying home favourite Miguel Oliveira a podium in the Superpole Race before securing another third-place finish in Race 2.
Superpole Race: Bulega Takes His 28th Victory and Breaks Bautista’s Record
Sunday’s action at Estoril began with the ten-lap Superpole Race.
At the start, Iker Lecuona managed to get ahead of his teammate, taking the lead into the opening corner. Behind them, Yari Montella and Alex Lowes made contact, losing several positions and allowing Miguel Oliveira to move forward.
Montella was subsequently handed a Long Lap Penalty for irresponsible riding.
The decisive moment came at the beginning of lap three when Lecuona made a mistake under braking at Turn 1, running wide and allowing Bulega to take the lead.
The Italian immediately capitalised on the opportunity, establishing himself at the front and gradually increasing his advantage.
From that point onwards, Bulega controlled the race without giving his rivals an opportunity to respond, crossing the finish line 0.734 seconds ahead of Lecuona.
The victory marked his 28th win of the season, surpassing the previous record of 27 victories set by Álvaro Bautista in 2023.
Bulega also recorded the fastest lap in 1:34.525, setting a new circuit record.
Surra Denies Oliveira a Home Podium
Behind the two factory Ducati riders, the battle for third place provided one of the most exciting moments of the Superpole Race.
Miguel Oliveira, supported by the Portuguese crowd, appeared set to secure a podium finish on home soil. The BMW rider had benefited from the incidents on the opening lap and maintained third position for much of the race.
However, Alberto Surra gradually reduced the gap, preparing his decisive attack in the closing stages.
The move came at Turn 3 on the final lap, when the Motocorsa Racing rider overtook Oliveira and prevented the Portuguese rider from responding.
Surra secured third place, finishing 6.465 seconds behind Bulega and just 0.141 seconds ahead of Oliveira.
It was the Italian’s third podium in four races, confirming the progress he has made during the final part of the season.
Oliveira had to settle for fourth, ahead of Álvaro Bautista and Axel Bassani.
Race 2: Bulega Dominates to Claim His 29th Victory
Sunday afternoon’s second full-length race confirmed Bulega’s dominance.
Once again, Lecuona managed to take the lead during the opening stages, but his teammate responded almost immediately.
On the opening lap, Bulega made a decisive move at Turn 6 to reclaim first position.
Once in front, the Italian established a pace that none of his rivals could match.
Lecuona initially remained within half a second, but Bulega progressively extended his advantage, also recording the fastest lap of the race with a time of 1:34.696.
After 21 laps, Bulega crossed the finish line 4.888 seconds ahead of his teammate, completing a clean sweep of the Estoril weekend.
The victory was his 29th of the season and marked the 12th time in his WorldSBK career that he had won all three races during a single weekend.
Bulega Surpasses Jonathan Rea’s Championship Points Record
Victory in Race 2 allowed Bulega to reach another historic milestone.
With the additional 25 points, the Ducati World Champion increased his season total to 664 points, surpassing the previous record of 663 established by Jonathan Rea in 2019.
The achievement is particularly significant considering that one championship round remains, with the season finale scheduled for Jerez.
Bulega has also reached 33 podium finishes this season, moving within one of Rea’s all-time record of 34 podiums in a single campaign, also established in 2019.
The Italian will therefore have three more opportunities to improve his statistics during the final round.
Behind him, Lecuona secured the 31st podium of his WorldSBK career, including his 25th runner-up finish.
Surra Takes Another Podium After Bautista’s Crash
The battle for third position in Race 2 once again featured Alberto Surra, this time involved in an intense fight with Álvaro Bautista.
The Barni Spark Racing Team rider made rapid progress from fifth position, joining the podium battle during the opening laps.
Surra responded to the former World Champion’s attacks, successfully defending third place throughout much of the first half of the race.
The contest intensified around lap 13 when Bautista capitalised on a mistake by the Italian at Turn 1 to move ahead.
Surra immediately responded at Turn 6, but Bautista fought back and retained the position.
Their battle came to an end on lap 17 when Bautista crashed at Turn 1, losing his opportunity to finish on the podium.
Surra consequently regained third position and maintained it to the finish, crossing the line 11.185 seconds behind Bulega.
It was the young Italian’s third third-place finish of the weekend, following his podium in Race 1, and another important result in his rookie WorldSBK season.
Montella Finishes Fourth and Secures the Independent Riders’ Title
Behind the podium finishers, Yari Montella claimed fourth position after an impressive recovery.
The Barni Spark Racing Team rider started from 11th on the grid but steadily worked his way through the field, finishing ahead of Axel Bassani and Lorenzo Baldassarri.
The result allowed Montella to mathematically secure the 2026 Independent Riders’ Championship, extending Barni’s successful run in the category to three consecutive seasons.
Montella also strengthened his third position in the overall championship standings, extending his advantage over his closest challengers to 53 points.
Bassani finished fifth aboard the Bimota, while Baldassarri completed the top six on the Team GoEleven Ducati.
Garrett Gerloff took seventh, ahead of Miguel Oliveira, Xavi Vierge and Jake Dixon.
It was a more difficult afternoon for Danilo Petrucci, who finished 16th, and Andrea Locatelli, who retired with a technical problem.
WorldSBK Championship Standings After Estoril
Following the penultimate round of the season, Bulega leads the championship with 664 points, ahead of teammate Lecuona on 518.
| Pos. | Rider | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicolò Bulega | 664 |
| 2 | Iker Lecuona | 518 |
| 3 | Yari Montella | 290 |
| 4 | Alex Lowes | 237 |
| 5 | Sam Lowes | 225 |
| 6 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | 214 |
| 7 | Axel Bassani | 208 |
| 8 | Alberto Surra | 179 |
| 9 | Garrett Gerloff | 160 |
| 10 | Álvaro Bautista | 137 |
Ducati Dominates Estoril as the Championship Heads to Jerez
The Portuguese weekend ended with another outstanding result for Ducati, which secured all three victories through Bulega and occupied the top four positions in Race 2.
The Italian manufacturer also demonstrated its competitiveness through its independent teams, with Surra claiming three podium finishes and Montella securing the Independent Riders’ title.
For Bulega, already crowned World Champion, Estoril provided another opportunity to strengthen what has become one of the most successful seasons in WorldSBK history.
With 29 victories, 33 podiums and 664 championship points, the Italian has surpassed two major records and heads into the final round with the opportunity to improve his achievements even further.
The 2026 World Superbike Championship will conclude at Jerez from October 16 to 18, where Bulega will attempt to add more victories and potentially break Jonathan Rea’s single-season podium record.