WorldSBK 2026

Round Seven – Misano – Saturday

Bulega dominant
Debise steals win
Ieraci breaks through

Nicolò Bulega matched Jonathan Rea’s WorldSBK pole streak before taking his first WorldSBK win at Misano, while Valentin Debise, Bruno Ieraci and Maria Herrera also starred on Saturday.

Saturday at the Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round became another milestone day in Nicolò Bulega’s extraordinary 2026 WorldSBK campaign, the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider turning a record-equalling Superpole performance into a lights-to-flag Race 1 victory at Misano.

The headline numbers are now getting silly. Bulega’s Saturday success was his 19th win from 19 races this season, his 23rd consecutive WorldSBK victory, his 39th career win, and his 32nd consecutive podium. It was also his first WorldSBK win at Misano, the one current-calendar circuit at which he had not previously won in the category.

It was a big day for Ducati too. Bulega’s win gave Ducati its 468th WorldSBK victory, its 19th win from 19 races this season, its 23rd consecutive race win, and its 73rd podium lockout. It was also Ducati’s first WorldSBK win at Misano since 2023, ending a run of six BMW/Razgatlioglu victories at the Italian venue.

There were strong stories throughout the support-card races as well. Valentin Debise stole WorldSSP victory from Albert Arenas on the final lap, Bruno Ieraci took his first WorldSPB win after a tense Sportbike scrap where young Aussie Carter Thompson figured highly, and Maria Herrera resisted Beatriz Neila to extend her WorldWCR championship lead.

WorldSBK Race One

Bulega matches Rea pole streak then extends perfect 2026 run

Bulega’s 21-lap Race 1 win was officially lights-to-flag. Lecuona challenged strongly into the opening corners, but Bulega was credited with leading every lap and quickly made the race his own.

By lap five, Bulega had already produced the new race lap record, a 1m32.552s, and from there he continued to edge away. The winning margin eventually stretched to 6.117 seconds, underlining not only his one-lap speed but also the relentless pace he was able to maintain in hot conditions, with track temperatures above 50 degrees.

The victory was Bulega’s 12th Grand Slam of the season, with pole, fastest lap, victory and every lap led. It was also his 13th lights-to-flag race win of the year, another record in the period for which that data is available.

Lecuona followed him home in second, extending the Bulega-Lecuona one-two streak to 16 consecutive races. For Lecuona it was an 18th career podium, and also a 16th consecutive second place, but the Spaniard admitted afterwards that Bulega’s race pace was simply out of reach on Saturday.

Yari Montella completed the podium for Barni Spark Racing Team, making it a Ducati podium sweep. The Italian had started fourth, launched cleanly, moved into third early, and then focused on breaking away from the pack behind rather than getting drawn into a tyre-sapping battle. It was Montella’s sixth career WorldSBK podium and his first at Misano, a special result in front of his home crowd and family.

Behind the Ducati podium sweep came a strong home showing for bimota. Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes fought hard in the first half of the race, with Bassani eventually getting the better of the duel to finish fourth. Lowes, who had started from the front row, completed the top five.

Alberto Surra continued his impressive run with sixth for Motocorsa Racing, finishing 24.702 seconds behind Bulega but ahead of the leading Yamaha. Andrea Locatelli was that rider, the Pata Maxus Yamaha man finishing seventh after qualifying eighth and running a consistent race in front of his home fan club.

Miguel Oliveira returned from injury with a solid eighth for ROKiT BMW, while Alvaro Bautista recovered from 17th on the grid to ninth for Barni Spark Racing Team. Bautista was still managing his foot injury and had struggled in Superpole, but his race recovery brought useful points and valuable data ahead of Sunday.

Stefano Manzi rounded out the top ten for GYTR GRT Yamaha, matching his best WorldSBK result so far. Remy Gardner had been on course for a points finish but crashed at Turn 8 with three laps remaining, while Michael van der Mark retired with a technical problem.

There was early disappointment for two potential podium contenders. Baldassarri crashed out at Turn 5 while running near the front and chasing a home podium, while Sam Lowes crashed shortly afterwards at Turn 6. Ryan Vickers also crashed at Turn 14 early, rejoined, and later retired.

WorldSBK Race One Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	N Bulega	Duc	32m40.418	272.7
2	I Lecuona	Duc	+6.117	273.4
3	Y Montella	Duc	+13.823	272.7
4	A Bassani	Bim	+17.626	271.4
5	A Lowes	Bim	+20.746	269.3
6	A Surra	Duc	+24.702	272.7
7	A Locatelli	Yam	+26.442	272.7
8	M Oliveira	BMW	+27.847	275.5
9	A Bautista	Duc	+29.285	273.4
10	S Manzi	Yam	+30.448	268.0
11	T Mackenzie	Duc	+30.882	275.5
12	X Vierge	Yam	+33.185	274.1
13	T Bridewell	Duc	+36.540	274.1
14	G Gerloff	Kaw	+36.602	270.0
15	S Chantra	Hon	+44.842	272.0
16	B Sofuoglu	Yam	+49.544	272.0
17	M Rato	Yam	+1m11.157	269.3
Not Classified
RET	M van der Mark	BMW	DNF	274.1
RET	R Gardner	Yam	DNF	271.4
RET	R Vickers	Hon	DNF	270.0
RET	S Lowes	Duc	DNF	272.0
RET	L Baldassarri	Duc	DNF	274.1

WorldSBK Superpole

Bulega’s Saturday started with another clinical Superpole performance, the Italian setting a new Misano all-time benchmark of 1m31.343s to claim pole position by 0.227s from team-mate Iker Lecuona.

That made it seven poles from seven rounds in 2026 and eight consecutive poles overall, matching Jonathan Rea’s all-time WorldSBK record streak from 2021. It was also Bulega’s 16th career pole, moving him level with Neil Hodgson for eighth on the all-time WorldSBK pole list.

Lecuona completed an Aruba.it Racing – Ducati one-two at the front of the grid, while Alex Lowes put the bimota KB998 Rimini on the front row with a 1m32.000s. It was the first time this season that a non-Ducati rider had qualified on the front row.

Yari Montella was fourth for Barni Spark Racing Team, only 0.053s behind Lowes, while Lorenzo Baldassarri and Alberto Surra completed the second row. That meant Ducati machinery filled five of the top six positions.

The session was short and sharp, but still messy. Garrett Gerloff crashed at Turn 14 before setting a time and was listed as not qualified, Sam Lowes crashed at Turn 13, and Tommy Bridewell fell at Turn 2 after already doing enough for ninth.

WorldSBK Superpole Times

POS	RIder	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	N Bulega	Duc	1m31.343	272.7
2	I Lecuona	Duc	+0.227	273.4
3	A Lowes	Bim	+0.657	269.3
4	Y Montella	Duc	+0.710	272.7
5	L Baldassarri	Duc	+0.875	274.1
6	A Surra	Duc	+0.962	272.7
7	A Bassani	Bim	+1.066	271.4
8	A Locatelli	Yam	+1.236	272.7
9	T Bridewell	Duc	+1.241	274.1
10	S Lowes	Duc	+1.284	272.0
11	M Oliveira	BMW	+1.294	275.5
12	T Mackenzie	Duc	+1.339	275.5
13	R Gardner	Yam	+1.447	271.4
14	X Vierge	Yam	+1.456	274.1
15	S Manzi	Yam	+1.460	268.0
16	M van der Mark	BMW	+1.480	274.1
17	A Bautista	Duc	+1.777	273.4
18	M Rato	Yam	+2.044	269.3
19	S Chantra	Hon	+2.060	272.0
20	B Sofuoglu	Yam	+2.121	272.0
21	R Vickers	Hon	+2.751	270.0
Not Qualified
NQ	G Gerloff	Kaw	–	270.0

WorldSBK Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Points
1	N Bulega	397
2	I Lecuona	284
3	Y Montella	147
4	A Lowes	143
5	S Lowes	142
6	A Bassani	122
7	L Baldassarri	117
8	A Bautista	99
9	M Oliveira	93
10	G Gerloff	87
11	A Surra	82
12	A Locatelli	80
13	T Mackenzie	69
14	X Vierge	60
15	D Petrucci	46
16	T Bridewell	43
17	S Manzi	34
18	R Gardner	30
19	M van der Mark	16
20	T Nagashima	7
21	S Chantra	5
22	J Rea	4
23	B Sofuoglu	4
24	M Rato	2
25	R Vickers	1

WorldSSP Race One

Debise wins the final-lap fight

WorldSSP produced the most dramatic finish of Saturday, with Valentin Debise beating championship leader Albert Arenas by just 0.107s after a final-corner exchange.

The official lap-leader data tells the story well. Arenas led the opening two laps, Can Öncü led laps three to five, Debise led lap six, then Arenas took control again from lap seven through to lap 17. Debise, however, stayed close enough to make one final move count.

The decisive attack came on the last lap at the fast Turn 11 Curvone. Arenas tried to strike back into the final corner, but ran deep, allowing Debise to square the exit and win the drag race to the line.

It was a significant win for Debise and ZXMOTO, not only because of the manner of the victory, but because Arenas had looked in control for much of the second half of the race. Debise also claimed the fastest lap of the race, a 1m37.216s on lap 12, which gives him pole for Sunday’s Race 2.

Arenas had to settle for second for the third consecutive race, but it was still a valuable championship result. He extended his lead to 38 points and maintained his record of taking at least one podium at every round so far this season.

Öncü, who started from pole, completed the podium in third, 5.156 seconds from the win. Tom Booth-Amos finished fourth for PTR Triumph Factory Racing, while Alessandro Zaccone was fifth as the top Italian, ahead of Mattia Casadei.

Oli Bayliss was seventh for PTR Triumph, 11.240 seconds from victory, and again showed strong pace in a very competitive WorldSSP field. His Triumph was also the fastest bike through the speed trap in the race at 246.6 km/h.

The race also had early drama. Filippo Farioli crashed at Turn 14 on the opening lap and rejoined, while Matteo Ferrari and Philipp Öttl both crashed at Turn 4 soon afterwards. Ferrari retired after one lap, while Öttl rejoined but was ultimately classified NC. Jaume Masia’s race also ended in frustration on the final lap, removing another championship contender from the points.

WorldSSP Race One Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	V Debise	ZXM	29m22.738	238.9
2	A Arenas	Yam	+0.107	237.9
3	C Oncu	Yam	+5.156	235.8
4	T Booth-Amos	Tri	+5.934	242.7
5	A Zaccone	Duc	+7.607	238.9
6	M Casadei	Duc	+10.450	240.5
7	O Bayliss	Tri	+11.240	246.6
8	S Jespersen	Duc	+12.347	237.4
9	F Caricasulo	ZXM	+12.990	241.1
10	R Garcia	Yam	+14.792	241.6
11	J Whatley	Duc	+16.240	240.5
12	A Mahendra	Yam	+16.325	242.2
13	D Aegerter	Kaw	+18.112	243.2
14	J Alcoba	Kaw	+18.384	241.1
15	K Zannoni	Duc	+21.346	238.4
16	R De Rosa	QJM	+21.615	238.4
17	C Perolari	Hon	+22.651	238.9
18	O Vostatek	Tri	+25.867	241.1
19	L Taccini	Duc	+32.841	241.6
20	Y Okamoto	Yam	+33.167	236.8
21	A Giombini	MVA	+34.530	241.1
22	J Cretaro	MVA	+34.599	241.1
23	H Garzo	Duc	+34.843	241.6
24	O Konig	Tri	+39.565	239.5
25	A Carrasco	Hon	+58.100	234.8
26	X Cardelus	Yam	+2 Laps	236.3
27	L Mahias	Yam	+4 Laps	236.3
28	A Kofler	Yam	+5 Laps	234.8
Not Classified
NC	P Oettl	Duc	DNF	242.2
RET	J Masia	Duc	DNF	242.2
RET	M Ramirez	QJM	DNF	240.5
RET	B Jimenez	Duc	DNF	242.7
RET	F Farioli	Yam	DNF	238.9
RET	M Ferrari	Duc	DNF	240.5

WorldSSP Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Bike	Points
1	A Arenas	Yam	226
2	V Debise	ZXM	188
3	J Masia	Duc	166
4	C Oncu	Yam	153
5	P Oettl	Duc	121
6	A Zaccone	Duc	107
7	M Ferrari	Duc	101
8	T Booth-Amos	Tri	95
9	R Garcia	Yam	89
10	J Alcoba	Kaw	89
11	A Mahendra	Yam	79
12	L Mahias	Yam	78
13	O Bayliss	Tri	62
14	S Jespersen	Duc	59
15	M Casadei	Duc	39
16	F Farioli	Yam	33
17	D Aegerter	Kaw	28
18	F Caricasulo	ZXM	27
19	J Whatley	Duc	26
20	O Vostatek	Tri	18
21	C Perolari	Hon	17
22	A Giombini	MVA	13
23	Y Okamoto	Yam	3
24	X Cardelus	Yam	2
25	K Zannoni	Duc	1

WorldSPB Race One

Ieraci wins a Sportbike thriller

Bruno Ieraci claimed his first WorldSPB victory after 12 tense laps of Sportbike action at Misano, the CM Triumph Factory Racing rider holding off wildcard Filippo Bianchi and Australian Carter Thompson.

Ieraci led the first ten laps of the race, but never had the comfort suggested by that statistic. The front group remained tight throughout, with pole-sitter David Salvador, Bianchi, Thompson, Antonio Torres and Fenton Seabright all in the podium conversation.

Salvador finally found a way to the front on lap 11, but Ieraci struck back on the final lap and led when it mattered most. He crossed the line 0.555s ahead of Bianchi, giving Triumph its first WorldSPB victory.

Bianchi’s second place was one of the standout rides of the race. The Team MMP Velocita wildcard had already impressed by qualifying on the front row, then backed that up by fighting for victory and finishing on the podium on debut.

Thompson had been right in the victory fight throughout, but a big slide at Turn 10 on the final lap cost him the chance to attack Ieraci and Bianchi. Even so, the Australian achieved third, marking back-to-back podium finishes and another strong result in a class that continues to produce tight front-group racing. Thompson also continues to be the clear standout amongst the Yamaha entrants.

Salvador finished fourth and still extended his championship advantage to 14 points, while team-mate Antonio Torres completed the top five for Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI.

Seabright crossed the line in the podium fight but was dropped to sixth after being penalised two positions for exceeding track limits on the final lap at Turns 13 and 15. He did, however, set the fastest lap of the race, a new race record of 1m42.822s on lap three, which gives him pole for Sunday’s Race 2. Thompson and Salvador will join him on the front row.

The race was busy from the opening minutes. Gonzalo Cazard crashed at Turn 1, Matteo Vannucci crashed at Turn 6 and rejoined to finish 26th, while Akshay Agaska and Kas Beekmans crashed at Turn 14. Beekmans had already been carrying a double long-lap penalty from Aragon Race 2, while Benat Fernandez retired early.

Taiyo Aksu finished 24th on the PATA AG Motorsport Italia Honda CBR600RR after starting from the back rows, his best lap a 1m43.814s.

WorldSPB Race One Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	B Ieraci	Tri	20m45.506	211.4
2	F Bianchi	Apr	+0.555	211.4
3	C Thompson	Yam	+0.632	212.6
4	D Salvador	Kaw	+1.163	211.4
5	A Torres	Kaw	+1.257	214.3
6	F Seabright	Tri	+1.400	213.0
7	X Artigas	Kaw	+1.789	212.2
8	E Bartolini	Tri	+1.900	215.6
9	J Buis	Suz	+2.224	210.9
10	T Benetti	Apr	+3.284	213.0
11	J Osuna	Kaw	+7.345	208.9
12	A Fuertes	Kaw	+7.400	209.3
13	J Risueno	Kaw	+7.500	215.6
14	L Veneman	Kaw	+12.258	211.8
15	M Gennai	Yam	+12.368	208.1
16	G Sanchez	Yam	+12.457	214.3
17	H Maier	Yam	+12.521	211.8
18	F Fleerackers	Suz	+13.357	208.9
19	A Di Persio	Yam	+13.364	211.4
20	J Correa	Kaw	+23.096	210.1
21	H Dessoy	Tri	+23.114	209.7
22	M Sorrenti	Apr	+23.257	208.1
23	T Sovicka	Yam	+31.101	206.1
24	T Aksu	Hon	+45.141	211.4
25	A Zanca	Kov	+45.315	206.5
26	M Vannucci	Apr	+47.160	213.0
Not Classified
RET	M Gaggi	Yam	DNF	212.2
RET	G Cazard	Yam	DNF	204.9
RET	I Peristeras	Apr	DNF	208.9
RET	K Beekmans	Suz	DNF	204.5
RET	A Agaska	Yam	DNF	210.9
RET	B Fernandez	Kov	DNF	211.8

WorldSPB Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Points
1	D Salvador	139
2	A Torres	124
3	X Artigas	118
4	J Buis	97
5	M Vannucci	90
6	B Ieraci	88
7	F Fleerackers	80
8	C Thompson	73
9	L Veneman	62
10	F Seabright	48
11	E Bartolini	46
12	A Fuertes	45
13	H Dessoy	41
14	K Beekmans	24
15	J Osuna	23
16	M Gaggi	22
17	F Bianchi	20
18	D Poncet	18
19	B Fernandez	18
20	M Gennai	17
21	F Mulya	12
22	A Di Persio	12
23	T Benetti	11
24	J Correa	10
25	J Risueno	9
26	G Sanchez	4
27	H Maier	4
28	M Sorrenti	2
29	R Fernandez	1
30	T Aksu	1
31	A Agaska	1

WorldWCR Race One

Herrera and Neila in a race of their own

Maria Herrera strengthened her WorldWCR championship lead with victory in Race 1 at Misano, but Beatriz Neila made her work all the way to the flag in what quickly became a private duel at the front.

Herrera led all 12 laps, but Neila shadowed her throughout and finished only 0.125s behind. Neila tried to set up a move late in the race, particularly in the final sector, but Herrera defended well and secured her fourth win of the season.

Behind them, however, the race told a very different story. Third place was eventually decided more than 21 seconds behind the leading pair, despite the race being only 12 laps long. That underlined just how far Herrera and Neila were ahead of the rest of the WorldWCR field at Misano, with the opening race effectively splitting into two contests: the title rivals fighting for victory, and a large chasing group scrapping for the final podium place.

The result lifted Herrera to 156 points, extending her championship lead over Neila, who moved to 137. Ramos remains third on 86 despite failing to finish, ahead of Ponziani on 76 and Sarapuech on 67.

The battle for the final podium place was chaotic from early in the race. Pole-sitter Paola Ramos and Italian wildcard Joy Bruno were both in that fight before crashing together at Turn 1 on lap five, ending promising races for both. Just before that, Justine Pedemonte had crashed at Turn 14, while Mallory Dobbs had already gone down at Turn 8.

Roberta Ponziani then looked set to claim the final podium position and underlined her pace with a new race lap record of 1m47.564s on lap seven. Her race ended soon afterwards, however, with a Turn 1 crash after eight laps. That fastest lap earns Ponziani pole for Sunday’s Race 2.

The final podium place eventually went to Chloe Jones, who had started ninth and recovered from a poor getaway. Jones came through the five-rider chase group to secure third, her first podium of the season for Monster Energy Crescent Yamaha, but she crossed the line 21.753s behind Herrera.

Yvonne Cerpa finished just 0.008s behind Jones in fourth, with Karolina Danak fifth at +21.984s and Pakita Ruiz sixth at +22.096s, showing how tight the fight for third had been, even if it was a long way behind the two title contenders.

Muklada Sarapuech crossed the line in the podium fight but was demoted to seventh after a three-second penalty, while Sara Sanchez finished eighth.

Australian Tayla Relph was ninth for Full Throttle Racing, 25.819s from the win, and Emily Bondi completed the top ten.

WorldWCR Race One Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	M Herrera	Yam	21m44.634
2	B Neila	Yam	+0.125
3	C Jones	Yam	+21.753
4	Y Cerpa	Yam	+21.761
5	K Danak	Yam	+21.984
6	P Ruiz	Yam	+22.096
7	M Sarapuech	Yam	+24.509
8	S Sanchez	Yam	+24.972
9	T Relph	Yam	+25.819
10	E Bondi	Yam	+25.979
11	N Rivera	Yam	+26.041
12	A Madrigal	Yam	+26.482
13	I Carreno	Yam	+36.843
14	P Sowa	Yam	+41.475
15	A Ourednickova	Yam	+44.714
16	A Barale	Yam	+44.994
17	D Dal Zotto	Yam	+45.141
18	L Michel	Yam	+45.226
19	K Hand	Yam	+55.649
20	G Lewis	Yam	+1m40.766
RET	L Vieillard	Yam	DNF
RET	R Ponziani	Yam	DNF
RET	P Ramos	Yam	DNF
RET	J Bruno	Yam	DNF
RET	J Pedemonte	Yam	DNF
RET	M Dobbs	Yam	DNF

WorldWCR Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Points
1	M Herrera	156
2	B Neila	137
3	P Ramos	86
4	R Ponziani	76
5	M Sarapuech	67
6	C Jones	61
7	N Rivera	54
8	P Ruiz	51
9	L Boudesseul	45
10	Y Cerpa	45
11	T Relph	39
12	A Madrigal	38
13	K Danak	29
14	S Sanchez	28
15	I Carreno	15
16	E Bondi	9
17	D Dal Zotto	9
18	L Vieillard	8
19	A Barale	7
20	M Dobbs	6
21	P Sowa	6
22	L Michel	3
23	A Ourednickova	3
24	K Hand	2

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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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