Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) has officially said goodbye to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock at the Circuito de Jerez - Ángel Nieto in Andalucía in the most emphatic way possible. With his ticket to the MotoGP paddock alongside the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team already secured, he walked away from the Pirelli Spanish Round with a stunning triple win, a fresh world title, and his name etched firmly into the history books.
Bulega started his final weekend in the series with absolute intent, grabbing his 11th pole of 2026 and converting it into a flag-to-flag victory in Race 1 on Saturday. He kept the pressure on Sunday morning, securing another win while running the SCX rear tire. That stint produced a blistering new race lap record of a 1’37.196s, keeping him in the 1’37s bracket on every single lap except the first and the last. In Race 2, Lecuona grabbed the lead through the opening five corners before Bulega sliced past at turn 6. Within five laps, the #11 had built a gap of over a second, handling a late bout of rain with total composure to seal his third victory of the weekend and his last in WorldSBK.
Cuando estaba hablando con Iker, simplemente estábamos diciendo que, aunque durante el año hemos sido rivales, ya no lo somos,
After completing the triple, the rider's emotions were raw and completely visible in the pit lane. “Han sido cinco años increíbles juntos, pero una última temporada realmente increíble,” Bulega said, reflecting on a run where his worst result all year was a second place. “Es un momento muy emotivo en el pit lane, todo el equipo y yo estábamos llorando. Para mí era muy importante ganar las tres últimas carreras y dejar este paddock con tres victorias más.”
The numbers from this campaign are frankly staggering. This final triumph equaled the 52 wins of his childhood hero Troy Bayliss, putting Bulega fourth on the all-time WorldSBK win list. Across 108 career races, he has stood on the podium 92 times, placing him tenth in all-time rostrum appearances, and he sits just one pole away from matching Carl Fogarty’s sixth-place mark of 21. His absolute dominance this season also obliterated Jonathan Rea’s previous points record in a single season of 663, driving the benchmark all the way up to 726.
Reflecting on joining the legends of the sport, Bulega noted, “Hoy he igualado a Bayliss… Es fantástico pensar que mi nombre está ahí junto al suyo. Cada récord me hace feliz de una forma diferente. No les presto demasiada atención, pero cuando salen en los medios es increíble verlos. Es increíble que después de solo tres temporadas esté entre los cinco primeros en victorias. Es un sueño hecho realidad.”
During a campaign that yielded 32 wins and 36 podiums, the only rider to regularly challenge the #11 was his teammate. Iker Lecuona carved out a unique piece of history himself by securing 27 second-place finishes in a single season, the highest tally since Toprak Razgatlioglu took 20 in 2023. The two rivals shared a warm moment in parc fermé, putting the year's intensity behind them, before Bulega stopped at turn 11 to wave goodbye to Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who was facing his final round with BMW and potentially his final weekend in WorldSBK.
“Cuando estaba hablando con Iker, simplemente estábamos diciendo que, aunque durante el año hemos sido rivales, ya no lo somos,” Bulega shared regarding his teammate. “Me ha presionado durante el año y ha estado bien. He parado en la curva 11 después de la carrera para despedirme de Danilo. Intentaré venir a Misano el próximo año y, quién sabe, quizá algún día vuelva.”
