WorldSBK: Bulega’s sunday double secures Ducati’s championship glory
WorldSBK: Ducati celebrated a landmark day at Donington Park as Nicolo Bulega returned to winning form with victories in both Sunday’s races, securing the Manufacturers’ Championship with four rounds still remaining.
The Bologna manufacturer’s perfect campaign continued with its 24th victory of the season, while Aruba.it Racing – Ducati also wrapped up the Teams’ Championship following success in the Tissot Superpole Race.
Race 2 Highlights
Nicolo Bulega completed a dominant weekend by leading home an Aruba.it Racing – Ducati one-two in Race 2, with teammate Iker Lecuona producing an outstanding recovery ride from tenth on the grid.
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After starting from the fourth row, Lecuona wasted little time moving through the field. He passed Garrett Gerloff at Coppice on the opening lap before making a series of decisive overtakes at the Melbourne Loop on Axel Bassani, Tommy Bridewell and Alex Lowes. Further moves on Sam Lowes and Yari Montella at Goddards with nine laps remaining secured second place and completed another Ducati one-two finish.
Starting from the middle of the front row, Montella made an excellent launch and shadowed Bulega during the opening laps before the championship leader steadily edged clear. Bulega crossed the line with a commanding four-second advantage, while Montella completed the podium to round out another all-Ducati top three.
An entertaining battle for fourth place featured four riders, with the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team pairing of Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes emerging on top. Bassani made the decisive move on his teammate with three laps remaining, while Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) remained close behind throughout. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) eventually crossed the line in seventh.
Further back, a late mistake by Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) at the Melbourne Loop allowed Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) to move through with two laps remaining and claim eighth position.
Championship Highlights
Ducati’s flawless start to the 2026 season continues, with a maximum tally of 496 points sealing the Manufacturers’ Championship with four rounds still to be contested.
Bulega also strengthened his position at the top of the Riders’ Championship, extending his advantage over teammate Lecuona to 133 points heading into the summer break.
The battle for third in the standings remains firmly in Yari Montella’s favour. The Barni Spark Racing Team rider completed a hat-trick of third-place finishes at Donington Park, extending his run to six consecutive podiums and opening a 29-point advantage over Alex Lowes in the championship standings.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It was a very nice day. I’m happy because yesterday I was a bit disappointed after Iker won. He deserved to win and I didn’t ride very well yesterday because I was struggling a little bit. I want to thank my team because we worked hard last night and the bike was better today. I could ride a bit more like I wanted so I’m happy with my performance today. Two more wins is good and it’s special to have won at Donington. This is a track that doesn’t really suit my riding style, especially in the last two sectors, so it was nice to win.”
P2 – Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“I made a mistake in the Superpole Race. I had extra confidence with the bike and carried a bit more speed into the corner and I lost the front. In Race 2 it was fun to recover from the back of the grid. Lap by lap I started overtaking riders until I passed Montella. Then I knew Nicolo would be almost impossible to catch because we have had very similar pace all weekend. From the first lap my target became second place and we achieved that. We are happy and it was a really good battle. I enjoyed riding the bike a lot and I think we have raised our level a little bit.”
P3 – Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team)
“The Superpole Race was fun. I thought my moment would come but I didn’t expect to start struggling with the tyres towards the end of the race. I tried to manage the gap to Bulega but it was impossible because he was faster than us. He had much more grip and much better drive than me but especially through Turns 2, 3, 5 and 6. To come away with three podiums here is fantastic and so I’m super happy and super proud. I think we are managing everything very well with the team. We are working so hard, very professionally and trying to improve every session. Donington has been my best weekend so far this season so I’m happy and proud.”
Race 2 Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.161s
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +6.850s
4. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +15.346s
5. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +15.582s
6. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) +16.656s
Championship Standings
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 491 points
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 358
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) 211
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 182
5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) 177
6. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 153
Superpole Race Highlights
Bulega’s first victory of Sunday secured the Teams’ Championship for Aruba.it Racing – Ducati, although it came after an action-packed 10-lap encounter.
Yari Montella led the opening three laps before Bulega made a decisive pass at the Melbourne Loop on Lap 5. Once in front, the championship leader controlled the race to the finish, with Montella taking second place to complete another Ducati one-two.
Iker Lecuona once again made a superb start to claim the holeshot and quickly built an advantage of almost one second. However, his race ended prematurely with a crash at Goddards on Lap 2, handing the lead to Montella and leaving the Spaniard to start Race 2 from tenth on the grid.
On an emotional day for ELF Marc VDS Racing Team, which began with a minute’s applause in memory of team founder Marc van der Straten, Sam Lowes delivered an excellent third-place finish. The British rider also set a new race lap record.
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +1.581s
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +3.346s
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