Teammates or not, Iker Lecuona of Aruba.it Racing - Ducati was never going to just hand Nicolo Bulega an unbothered march to the 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship crown. In the opening race of the EICMA Italian Round at Cremona Circuit, Lecuona uncorked a stunning win, crossing the finish line more than five and a half seconds faster than his championship-leading teammate.
The numbers point heavily toward Bulega still securing his title on Sunday, but Lecuona's masterclass is a loud statement to the entire paddock about who intends to rule next season. Ducati's absolute dominance at this venue rolls on, with the Italian manufacturer now claiming victories in all seven races held at Cremona so far.
It was very special; it’s my first year with Ducati and my second win at the World Championship level,
Saturday's groundwork was wild. After topping both Free Practice sessions on Friday, Lecuona grabbed pole position by a razor-thin margin of four hundredths of a second ahead of Bulega. That pole almost never happened; he suffered a near-catastrophic collision with the barrier at the end of the Turn 1 gravel trap after misjudging his braking point at the end of the start-finish straight.
"I almost hit the wall in the Superpole session! I lost my reference leaving pit lane, and arrived very fast at the wall; luckily, I avoided it and escaped to earn pole," Lecuona recounted. "I didn’t expect to get pole position after that huge moment, but I felt very strong on the bike on Friday, and we found something to improve in the afternoon."
When the lights went out, Lecuona put himself into clean air immediately and converted pole into a lights-to-flag masterclass. Despite executing what he described as one of his worst starts of the year, he clung to first place. By the end of Lap 1, he had already pulled nearly a second clear of the #11 machine. Backed by consistent sub-1’28.5s lap times, that gap only grew, leaving Bulega trailing as the race concluded with a margin just shy of six seconds.
"I feel very strong and comfortable on the bike. My pace was very strong in Race 1," Lecuona said. "I went step by step, improving by a tenth or so each lap until I started to lose the front around the middle of the race. I didn’t make any stupid mistakes, and I enjoyed the package. I’m really happy."
This affinity for Cremona has been clear since Lecuona made the switch to the Ducati Panigale V4 R this past offseason. Ever since the circuit joined the calendar in 2024, he has thrived here—taking a high of P4 in 2024 and never finishing worse than P6 aside from two DNFs in 2025.
Looking ahead to Sunday, Bulega needs just 15 points across the final day's two races to secure the championship, no matter what Lecuona achieves. But Lecuona isn't interested in calculations; he is here to race.
"It was very special; it’s my first year with Ducati and my second win at the World Championship level," Lecuona reflected. "To earn that with an Italian bike at an Italian track with Gigi Dall’Igna here, I’m very happy, and we will try to do the same tomorrow. Maybe I am the favourite tomorrow, but Nicolo always finds something; I will just look to enjoy everything, let’s see. When Nicolo closes the Championship in Race 2, maybe he will try to push more, but we will be there to fight."
