WorldSBK 2026

Round 11 – Estoril – Sunday

Nicolo Bulega completed another clean sweep at Estoril, taking his 29th victory of the season as Iker Lecuona and Alberto Surra again joined him on an all-Ducati podium.

The newly crowned World Champion won the 21-lap finale by almost five seconds, completing his ninth hat-trick of 2026 and lifting his points tally to a new season record of 664. Lecuona finished second in all three races, while Surra’s three third places made this comfortably the strongest weekend of his WorldSBK career.

There was another milestone for Yari Montella, who recovered from 11th on the grid to fourth and secured the Best Independent Rider title. Remy Gardner finished 12th, collecting four points after a weekend in which his physical condition continued to improve.

WorldSBK Race Two

Bulega takes control

Lecuona once again won the launch to Turn 1, but this time Bulega needed only six corners to take charge. He passed his team-mate at Turn 6 on the opening lap and led across the line on every subsequent tour.

That did not immediately settle the contest. Lecuona remained within a second through the first seven laps, even as the two factory Ducatis pulled well clear of the fight for third. Bulega set the fastest lap of the race on lap three, a 1m34.696, but initially could not shake off his team-mate.

The gap gradually opened as the race developed. Lecuona later explained that a front-end moment at Turn 2 around mid-distance prompted him to ease his pace, while Bulega felt better able to manage his tyres than he had on Saturday.

By the closing stages, Bulega had more than five seconds in hand. He crossed the line 4.888 seconds clear to complete a perfect response to Lecuona’s Cremona sweep.

Nicolo Bulega – P1

“This is another amazing weekend. I think it’s maybe one of the best of the season because my feeling was good. My pace today in Race 2 was incredible. It was very fast. It was close at the beginning of the race but then I continued to push and my pace from halfway through the race was a bit better. I could manage the tyre a bit better today compared to Race 1 so I’m really happy about my performance and how my team improved the bike. I’m looking forward to going to Jerez for the final round.”

Iker Lecuona – P2

“After nine or 10 laps though I lost the front at Turn 2 and almost went into the gravel and then I decided to roll off and finish second. I tried to push as much as I could to stay with Nicolo and he also made some small mistakes but he was faster than me all weekend.”

Surra completes his podium treble

The battle for the final podium place ran much longer. Alvaro Bautista held third at the end of the opening lap, with Surra, Axel Bassani and Montella behind him.

Surra moved ahead on lap three and held third until Bautista reclaimed the position on lap 13. Montella was also closing, having gained five places on the opening lap before passing Bassani for fifth on lap nine.

Bautista’s opportunity disappeared at Turn 1 on lap 17, where he lost the front while running third. That promoted Surra back onto the podium and ended the two-time champion’s bid for his first rostrum finish since Phillip Island.

Surra brought the Motocorsa Ducati home just over 16 seconds behind Bulega, with Montella a little more than two seconds further back. Having taken his first WorldSBK podium in the Cremona Superpole Race, Surra now has four.

Alberto Surra – P3

“For me it was the best weekend so I’m very happy because it was a solid weekend for me and my team. In Race 2 I had very good grip from the rear tyre and was able to pass Alvaro. Now I’m going to Jerez, which is a difficult circuit for my riding style but I’ll try to improve on my best result.”

Montella could not sustain a late podium challenge as his front tyre deteriorated, but fourth delivered the independent riders’ crown. It also strengthened his hold on third overall: he now leads Alex Lowes by 53 points with 62 available at Jerez.

Yari Montella – P4

“I feel more relaxed. We had been talking with the team for a long time about the possibility of winning this title, and in the end, we did it. I’m very happy and proud of the work we’ve done throughout the year with the Barni team, my fitness coach and my psychologist. We’ve made a big step forward compared with last year.”

Bassani fifth, difficult afternoon for Lowes

Bassani completed a progressively stronger weekend with fifth, following seventh on Saturday and sixth in the Superpole Race. The Bimota rider had briefly run fourth early on, but rear grip became a growing problem from around half-distance.

Lorenzo Baldassarri finished sixth on the GoEleven Ducati after working through a busy midfield contest. He passed Dixon early, then cleared Vierge as Oliveira’s recovery brought the BMW into the same battle.

Alex Lowes also worked his way forward after another opening-lap contact, this time at Turn 2. He reached seventh on lap 12, but crashed at Turn 4 on lap 16 while trying to pull clear of Baldassarri. Coupled with his scoreless Superpole Race, it made for a costly Sunday in the fight for third in the championship.

Garrett Gerloff recovered from his difficult sprint to finish seventh in Race Two. Starting 13th, the Kawasaki rider completed the opening lap tenth and eventually took the flag less than seven-tenths ahead of Oliveira.

Oliveira recovers to eighth at home

Oliveira’s hopes of converting fourth on the grid into a podium challenge were damaged by an opening-lap excursion at Turn 6. He completed that lap 13th, recovered to ninth, then lost ground again when he ran wide at Turn 1 on lap nine.

He fought back to eighth, ending a home weekend that had already yielded two fourth places and a near miss in the Superpole Race. Away from the racing, Estoril also named Turn 7 in his honour after he led a convoy of more than 1,000 motorcycles from Sintra to the circuit.

Miguel Oliveira – P8

“It hurts a little bit not to have finished on the podium in the Superpole Race, and race two, for sure, didn’t go our way. I’m a little bit angry about that, but we took some steps with the bike. Now I’m looking forward to Jerez.”

Vierge was ninth and the leading Yamaha, with Dixon completing the top ten on the Honda. Tommy Bridewell finished 11th, ahead of Gardner and Somkiat Chantra.

Gardner adds points as his hand improves

Gardner started 16th, slipped to 17th on the opening lap and worked back into the points. He ultimately held off Chantra by just 0.033 seconds for 12th, taking his championship total to 62 and moving ahead of Danilo Petrucci into 16th overall.

Remy Gardner – P12

“Overall, it was a decent weekend considering where we started and my physical condition. My hand felt better each day, and I was getting stronger with every session, which is encouraging with another back-to-back round coming up. Our race pace was okay, although we are still some way off where we want to be. We need to take the positives from this weekend and carry them into Jerez, a track where we have been strong in the past. Hopefully, we can put in a good performance there and finish the season on a high.”

Manzi came from 20th on the grid to finish 14th, with Sam Lowes taking the final point. Petrucci was 16th ahead of Mattia Rato and Twan Smits.

Alongside Bautista and Alex Lowes, the retirements included Loris Baz, who crashed at Turn 3 on lap 17, and Locatelli, whose afternoon ended with a technical problem after his morning crash had forced a switch to the spare Yamaha.

Bulega heads to the Jerez finale 146 points clear of Lecuona. Ducati remains unbeaten through all 33 races of the season, with three more opportunities to extend that run on October 16–18.

WorldSBK Race Two Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	N. Bulega	Duc	33m28.170	319.5
2	I. Lecuona	Duc	+4.888	323.4
3	A. Surra	Duc	+16.073	320.5
4	Y. Montella	Duc	+18.153	323.4
5	A. Bassani	Bim	+21.430	319.5
6	L. Baldassarri	Duc	+22.894	326.3
7	G. Gerloff	Kaw	+25.584	326.3
8	M. Oliveira	BMW	+26.236	328.3
9	X. Vierge	Yam	+31.680	323.4
10	J. Dixon	Hon	+31.992	326.3
11	T. Bridewell	Duc	+32.492	323.4
12	R. Gardner	Yam	+33.237	323.4
13	S. Chantra	Hon	+33.270	329.3
14	S. Manzi	Yam	+36.753	325.3
15	S. Lowes	Duc	+39.486	327.3
16	D. Petrucci	BMW	+44.431	321.4
17	M. Rato	Yam	+44.602	321.4
18	T. Smits	Yam	+1m00.461	314.0
Not Classified
RET	A. Bautista	Duc	+5 Laps	324.3
RET	L. Baz	Duc	+5 Laps	325.3
RET	A. Lowes	Bim	+6 Laps	324.3
RET	A. Locatelli	Yam	+14 Laps	317.6

WorldSBK Superpole Race

Nicolo Bulega set a new record for victories in a single WorldSBK season with his 28th win of 2026, beating Aruba.it Racing Ducati team-mate Iker Lecuona in Sunday morning’s ten-lap Superpole Race at Estoril.

Lecuona made the better start and led the opening two laps, but a mistake at Turn 1 on lap three opened the door for Bulega. The Spaniard recovered without surrendering second and kept the pressure on, finishing just over seven-tenths behind.

Bulega also lowered the race lap record to 1m34.525 on lap four as he moved beyond the 27 victories Alvaro Bautista recorded in 2023.

Alberto Surra completed the podium after a late move on Miguel Oliveira, the Motocorsa Ducati rider beating the local favourite by just 0.141 seconds. Oliveira had held third for most of the race, but another fourth place left the BMW rider narrowly short of a home podium.

Bautista climbed from 12th on the grid to fifth, ahead of Axel Bassani, Xavi Vierge and Jake Dixon. Lorenzo Baldassarri claimed the final point and the last of the nine grid positions decided by the sprint for Race Two.

Alex Lowes had a much harder morning. Contact with Yari Montella at the first corner damaged the Bimota’s winglet and sent Lowes off track. He recovered to 11th, while Montella served a Long Lap Penalty for the incident and finished 13th.

Remy Gardner took 15th behind GRT Yamaha team-mate Stefano Manzi. Garrett Gerloff finished 18th after an early excursion, while Andrea Locatelli crashed at Turn 7.

WorldSBK Superpole Race Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	N. Bulega	Duc	15m52.751
2	I. Lecuona	Duc	+0.734
3	A. Surra	Duc	+6.465
4	M. Oliveira	Bmw	+6.606
5	A. Bautista	Duc	+8.152
6	A. Bassani	Bim	+10.035
7	X. Vierge	Yam	+11.642
8	J. Dixon	Hon	+12.12
9	L. Baldassarri	Duc	+12.96
10	S. Lowes	Duc	+13.953
11	A. Lowes	Bim	+14.87
12	T. Bridewell	Duc	+16.195
13	Y. Montella	Duc	+16.808
14	S. Manzi	Yam	+17.606
15	R. Gardner	Yam	+19.984
16	D. Petrucci	Bmw	+21.125
17	L. Baz	Duc	+21.319
18	G. Gerloff	Kaw	+21.581
19	M. Rato	Yam	+25.023
20	S. Chantra	Hon	+26.116
21	T. Smits	Yam	+27.888
Not Classified
DNF	A. Locatelli	Yam	+4 Laps

WorldSBK Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Points
1	Nicolo 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	Alvaro BAUTISTA	137
11	Miguel OLIVEIRA	136
12	Andrea LOCATELLI	118
13	Xavi VIERGE	108
14	Tarran MACKENZIE	81
15	Thomas BRIDEWELL	71
16	Remy GARDNER	62
17	Danilo PETRUCCI	61
18	Stefano MANZI	46
19	Jake DIXON	35
20	Michael VAN DER MARK	23
21	Somkiat CHANTRA	21
22	Tetsuta NAGASHIMA	7
23	Jonathan REA	6
24	Bahattin SOFUOGLU	4
25	Loris BAZ	3
26	Mattia RATO	3
27	Ryan VICKERS	1

WorldSSP Race Two

Jeremy Alcoba won a six-lap restart at Estoril to claim his third victory in four races, beating Filippo Farioli and Valentin Debise after a disrupted Sunday afternoon in World Supersport.

The Kawasaki rider finished 0.378 seconds ahead of Farioli, while Debise’s third place secured second in the championship with a round to spare. Newly crowned champion Albert Arenas and Saturday winner Tom Booth-Amos were already out before the red flag, and Oli Bayliss finished 19th after running off track in the restart.

Early trouble for Arenas and the race leaders

Roberto Garcia started the original 18-lap race from pole after setting Saturday’s fastest lap, and the GMT94 Yamaha rider led the first two laps. Farioli moved ahead on lap three before Garcia regained the lead on lap four.

Arenas had little opportunity to build on Saturday’s championship celebrations. A technical problem stopped the AS BLU CRU Yamaha rider at Turn 1 on lap three, ending his afternoon before the race had properly developed.

The leading battle lost two more major contenders on lap six. Contact between Garcia and Can Oncu on the approach to Turn 1 ended Garcia’s race, while Booth-Amos briefly reached the front before losing the front of his Triumph at Turn 4.

Yamaha reported that Oncu’s bike struck Garcia’s outstretched foot in their incident. Garcia was assessed at the medical centre, with the team reporting a sprained knee but no broken bones. Further checks will determine whether he can race at Jerez.

Rain threatened during the opening contest, but it was Bahattin Sofuoglu’s Turn 3 crash on lap ten, and the resulting debris, that brought out the red flag.

Farioli headed the classification used to form the restart grid, followed by Lucas Mahias, Oncu, Alcoba, Bayliss and Debise. Bayliss had been less than a second from the lead, still firmly involved in the contest after his career-best second place on Saturday.

The restart was set at six laps, with full championship points awarded for the final result.

Alcoba wins the restart

Mahias led the opening lap of the restart, with Alcoba immediately up to second from fourth on the grid and Farioli third. Aldi Satya Mahendra made a particularly strong getaway, climbing from tenth to fourth on the first lap.

Farioli regained the lead on lap two and remained ahead at half-distance, with Alcoba close behind and Mahendra also in contention. Alcoba then took charge on lap four, while Mahendra moved into second, little more than a tenth behind the Kawasaki at the line.

Mahendra’s challenge ended at Turn 6 on the penultimate lap. His crash restored Farioli to second, with Debise advancing to third after recovering from tenth at the end of the opening lap.

Alcoba held Farioli at bay through the final lap to add an Estoril victory to his Cremona double. Saturday’s third place means the Kawasaki rider has now finished on the podium in four consecutive races.

Jeremy Alcoba – P1

“My target was to win but I didn’t expect it! We weren’t in the same position as we were at Cremona. Even this morning, I was slow in Warm-Up so I’m really happy with the start, the race and how I could fight and manage the race. At one moment I was in the top seven or top eight and I said, ‘Okay, I’ll let them fight and then we’ll see what happens’ but as they fought I could overtake them. I was managing everything quite well and I had everything under control before the race stopped. After the red flag I was really impressed with our lap times and to take another victory means I’m really happy. We’re now close to the top three in the championship.”

For Farioli, second was a career-best WorldSSP result and his second podium, following his breakthrough at Cremona. The VFT Yamaha rider had led both parts of Sunday’s race and finished less than four-tenths from a maiden victory.

Filippo Farioli – P2

“To be back on the podium after Cremona is a dream come true. At the start of the season I did not have a great feeling with the bike, but since we tested at Magny-Cours we made a big improvement and since then we have been improving race by race, and finally made the podium in Cremona and achieved it again today. I felt like I could have fought for the win yesterday, but I went wide, so I was confident heading into today’s race. We need to continue in this way and aim to finish the season on a high in Jerez.”

Debise clinches championship runner-up

Debise’s podium came with a new race lap record of 1m39.093, set on lap four aboard the EASTROC ZXMOTO Evan Bros Factory machine. He finished just over a second behind Alcoba, ahead of Oncu and Mahias.

The 16 points for third lifted Debise to 291, putting him 57 clear of Oncu with only 50 available at Jerez. That settles second in the championship behind Arenas, who remains on 364 points after his early retirement.

The fight for third is much closer. Oncu has 234 points, with Jaume Masia and Alcoba tied on 229 and Booth-Amos on 217. Masia failed to score after he and Eduardo Fernandez crashed at Turn 9 on lap two of the restart.

Philipp Oettl finished sixth as the leading Ducati, ahead of Matteo Ferrari and Dominique Aegerter. Mattia Casadei took ninth, completing a productive recovery from 19th on the original grid, while Borja Jimenez rounded out the top ten.

Alessandro Zaccone was 11th on the Althea Ducati, ahead of Federico Caricasulo, Leonardo Taccini, Simon Jespersen and Josh Whatley. Yuki Okamoto narrowly missed the points in 16th, followed by Ondrej Vostatek and Corentin Perolari.

Bayliss heads to Brands Hatch after mixed Estoril weekend

Bayliss was unable to convert his pace in the opening race into points when the field restarted. Starting fifth, the Australian dropped to eighth on the first lap before running through the gravel at Turn 4 on lap two.

He rejoined near the back and recovered to 19th, leaving him on 94 championship points in 14th overall. It was a frustrating end to a weekend in which he had come within 0.075 seconds of a maiden WorldSSP victory and helped Triumph secure its first one-two finish in the class.

His attention now switches to the British Supersport finale at Brands Hatch. Triumph confirmed that Bayliss will race there with Macadam Triumph Factory Racing, while Booth-Amos heads to the WorldSSP finale at Jerez. Bayliss goes into the British decider third in that championship.

Oli Bayliss – P19

“Obviously really happy with yesterday’s result, I knew Tom was going to have a go on the last lap and I made the mistake of leaving the door open. But I’m happy with the result, my best WSS finish and it was great for Triumph and the team to secure a 1-2 for the first time. I’m now looking forward to getting back to the British championship next weekend. I’ve had a great time with the Macadam Triumph Factory Racing team and hope we can have a good finish to the year. Good luck to Tom and PTR for Jerez!”

WorldSSP Race Two Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	J. Alcoba	Kaw	10m01.340
2	F. Farioli	Yam	+0.378
3	V. Debise	Zxm	+1.31
4	C. Oncu	Yam	+2.242
5	L. Mahias	Yam	+2.665
6	P. Oettl	Duc	+3.208
7	M. Ferrari	Duc	+3.369
8	D. Aegerter	Kaw	+3.707
9	M. Casadei	Duc	+5.255
10	B. Jimenez	Duc	+5.289
11	A. Zaccone	Duc	+5.37
12	F. Caricasulo	Zxm	+6.434
13	L. Taccini	Duc	+6.46
14	S. Jespersen	Duc	+6.959
15	J. Whatley	Duc	+7.577
16	Y. Okamoto	Yam	+8.626
17	O. Vostatek	Tri	+8.684
18	C. Perolari	Hon	+13.766
19	O. Bayliss	Tri	+14.284
20	A. Kofler	Yam	+15.651
21	A. Giombini	Mva	+16.558
22	S. Di Sora	Mva	+16.601
23	G. Capote	Yam	+16.857
24	R. De Rosa	Qjm	+18.181
25	A. Carrasco	Hon	+20.533
DNF	A. Mahendra	Yam	+2 Laps
Not Classified
DNF	J. Masia	Duc	+5 Laps
DNF	E. Fernandez	Yam	+5 Laps
DNF	O. Konig	Tri
DNF	R. Garcia	Yam
DNF	T. Booth-Amos	Tri
DNF	A. Arenas	Yam

WorldSSP Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Points
1	Albert ARENAS	364
2	Valentin DEBISE	291
3	Can ONCU	234
4	Jaume MASIA	229
5	Jeremy ALCOBA	229
6	Tom BOOTH-AMOS	217
7	Roberto GARCIA	174
8	Philipp OETTL	169
9	Matteo FERRARI	147
10	Lucas MAHIAS	136
11	Alessandro ZACCONE	135
12	Aldi MAHENDRA	132
13	Filippo FARIOLI	119
14	Oli BAYLISS	94
15	Simon JESPERSEN	72
16	Mattia CASADEI	68
17	Federico CARICASULO	58
18	Dominique AEGERTER	57
19	Josh WHATLEY	38
20	Corentin PEROLARI	30
21	Ondrej VOSTATEK	28
22	Andrea GIOMBINI	13
23	Leonardo TACCINI	12
24	Borja JIMENEZ	11
25	Jorge NAVARRO	9
26	Yuki OKAMOTO	6
27	Raffaele DE ROSA	5
28	Xavi CARDELUS	2
29	Kevin ZANNONI	1

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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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