Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) simply refuses to stop writing history. The #11 converted pole position into a lights-to-flag victory in the Tissot Superpole Race at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Andalucia, commanding the Pirelli Spanish Round with absolute authority. That is win number 51 in the MOTUL FIM Superpole World Championship for the Italian machine, leaving him just one shy of Troy Bayliss.
It wasn't entirely a walk in the park off the line, as Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) piled the pressure on across the opening lap. But Bulega slammed the door shut, pulling out a gap of two tenths heading into Turn 6. Soon enough, teammate Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) muscled past the #14 to take second place, leaving Sam Lowes to settle for third at the finish line, 4.740s back from the winner. Lecuona crossed the line 0.797s behind Bulega to seal the runner-up spot.
The stats coming out of this run are staggering. This was podium number 35 of the campaign for Bulega, officially breaking Jonathan Rea's previous record of 34. More than that, he crossed the 700-point barrier to sit on 701 points, making him the first rider in WorldSBK history to hit that mark. Lecuona picked up his 33rd podium in the series, while Sam Lowes grabbed his 16th overall and 11th of the year.
Further down the order, the battle for the remaining top spots provided plenty of chaos. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) fought past Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) at Turn 13 on the opening lap to secure fourth, eventually pulling a margin of around half-a-second. Alex Lowes kept close enough to protect a sizeable gap to Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) in sixth, who had clawed his way up from ninth on the grid. That sets up a second-row start for Race 2 featuring Montella, Alex Lowes, and Bautista, with Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) taking seventh after crossing the line 10.738s off the lead.
Behind them, an absolute brawl for eighth erupted on the final lap. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) banged wheels with Tommy Bridewell (Superbike Advocates), bundling the #46 out of the way at Turn 2 after an initial scrap at Turn 1. Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) played it smart, swooping through to steal ninth place as the dust settled. Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) hovered right in the thick of that scrap with the #88 machine, but ultimately ran out of road and had to settle for 11th.
To top it all off, Bulega smashed the clock with a blistering fastest lap of 1’37.196s, setting a new lap record. Now, the final showdown of 2026 awaits.
