20:00:47 (GMT)

Bulega has now scored more points than anyone else in a single WorldSBK campaign after his Estoril treble

TEXT SOURCE: WorldSBK / PHOTO: Pedro Ribeiro

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) continues to make MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship history with victory in Race 2 of the Tissot Estoril Round. The #11 beat teammate Iker Lecuona by just under five seconds for his latest win, while there was late podium drama at the Circuito Estoril. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) completed a hat-trick of P3 finishes in Portugal after a late crash for Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team).

MORE RECORDS FOR BULEGA

On the opening lap, Lecuona took the lead of the race, but Bulega made an aggressive move at Turn 6 on Lap 1 to reclaim the lead of the race before immediately starting to build a gap over his teammate. Although Lecuona initially stayed within half-a-second of his teammate, a 1’34.696s enabled ‘Bulegas’ to build a gap over his teammate in the first half of the race as he went on to secure a 29th victory of the season, and it also means the 25 points he gained put his 2026 tally to 664 points – the highest tally in a single season, beating Jonathan Rea’s 2019 tally of 663 with three races to go. He also has 33 podiums in 2026, with the all-time record for rostrums in a season standing at 34, set by Rea in 2019. Lecuona claimed his 31st WorldSBK rostrum, with 25 of those being P2 finishes.

ROOKIE VS THE TWO-TIME CHAMPION

In the fight for third, Bautista jumped up the order from fifth to run in third but an in-form Surra at Turn 6 on Lap 2, and their battle continued into Turn 1 on Lap 3; Surra retained the podium place. Bautista then had to resist Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), which allowed Surra to build a gap over the chasing pack. However, once Bautista stabilised his pace, he started putting pressure on the #67 once again in the early stages, although the rookie was able to keep the two-time WorldSBK Champion at bay across the first half of the 21-lap race. By Lap 12, Bautista was all over the back of the rookie, and on Lap 13 the #19 was in P3 when Surra went wide at Turn 1. On the same lap, Surra answered back at Turn 6, but Bautista was able to respond immediately. However, a Lap 17 crash for Bautista at Turn 1 cost him a potential podium and promoted Surra back onto the rostrum.

TOP INDEPENDENT RIDER CONFIRMED

Montella battled from 11th on the grid to finish fourth, and, coupled with Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) finishing in 15th he secured the 2026 Independent Riders’ title – the third year in a row a Barni Ducati rider has won it. With the #5 also outscoring his rivals for P3 in the standings, he has a 53-point advantage heading to Jerez in the battle for bronze. Bassani finished the race in fifth place after managing a gap to Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven), with ‘Balda’ coming home in a relatively lonely sixth place.

OLIVEIRA’S ROLLERCOASTER RACE

Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) finished in P7 as he fended off a hard-charging Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). After starting from P4, the #88 was running as low as 14th on the opening lap after he ran wide at Turn 6. From there, he fought his way through the field – passing Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Gerloff in one move at Turn 1 on Lap 6 for P9, and attempting a similar move two laps later on Baldassarri and Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha), although he was only able to get ahead of ‘Balda’. On Lap 9, Oliveira ran wide at Turn 1 trying to pass his rivals and fell to 11th, before eventually finishing in eighth. Vierge was classified in ninth with Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) rounding out the top ten.

BRINGING HOME POINTS

Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates) finished in 11th, half-a-second down on his fellow Brit in P10, while Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) finished in 12th. The #87 had to fend off Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) on the final lap, with the Thai star just 0.033s behind the Australian rider at the end of the race. Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was 14th with Sam Lowes picking up the final point with 15th.

NON-SCORES AND RETIREMENTS

Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) finished in 16th place, almost five seconds down on the #14 ahead. Mattia Rato (Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and teammate Twan Smits were 17th and 18th respectively, as the last classified riders. Alex Lowes crashed out of the race on Lap 16 at Turn 4, while Loris Baz (MGM Optical Express Racing) crashed at Turn 3 a lap later. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) also didn’t finish the race after bringing his bike into the pits with a technical issue.

The top six from WorldSBK Race 2:

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +4.888s

Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) +11.185s

Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +18.153s

Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +21.430s

Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) +22.894s

Fastest lap – Nicolo Bulega (Ducati), 1’34.696s

 

Circuito Estoril

STATEMENT I – 05/03/2026

CE – Circuito Estoril, S.A. hereby informs that with a view to identifying alternative models for optimizing the management of the sports infrastructure known as “Autódromo Fernanda Pires da Silva” or “Autódromo do Estoril”, a market consultation will shortly be launched, in strict compliance with the applicable legal framework, for granting a surface right over the real state of Circuito Estoril on which the aforementioned infrastructure and its supporting facilities are located.

As several measures are currently underway which are necessary to ensure the proper preparation of the above-mentioned market consultation procedure, it is noted that the documentation establishing the respective terms and conditions will be duly published on the Company’s website, and the consultation will be accessible to any interested party.

In the meantime, the Company will continue to carry out its activities, ensuring, in strict compliance with the applicable legal provisions, the organisation of motorized events at Autódromo do Estoril.

 

STATEMENT II – 19/09/2025

As publicly known, a court decision was issued on September 8, 2023, aimed at regulating noise levels resulting from the operation of the Estoril Circuit. This decision has been fully complied with by CE – Circuito Estoril, S.A. (“CE”). Committed to a spirit of continuous improvement in the operating conditions of the Estoril Circuit and its impact on the surrounding area, CE announces that, in early August 2025, it decided to exclude motorcycle track days from the list of events permitted at the circuit. This measure goes beyond the limitations imposed by the aforementioned court decision. Due to their nature, this resolution does not apply to sporting events (races or competitions), including training sessions for such events, as well as professional driver track training not associated with any sporting event.

The Estoril Circuit has always complied, and will continue to comply, with the legal rules regarding noise as well as what is determined in the sentence handed down by the Cascais Court, as can be confirmed in the monitoring reports on the company’s website. (Link)

CE further announces that, following the decision of April 24, 2025, to close Stand A, there is currently no anticipated date for the reopening of this infrastructure.

Finally, the EC reports on the current commercial policy: (Link)