Nicolo Bulega rewrites SBK records, but still not satisfied

In Race 1 at Balaton Park Circuit, history was written with Nicolò Bulega taking his 14th consecutive SBK victory. For the Ducati bearer this is an absolute record, higher than the previous one set on two different occasions by Toprak Razgatlioglu. The Emilian continued his perfect start to the season by bringing home a one-two for the Borgo Panigale manufacturer, with Iker Lecuona, who started from the third row, crossing the line in second place. Yet, at the end of a day that rewrites the almanacs of the entire Superbike, he admitted he was not completely satisfied.

“It wasn’t a bad day, but I’m not comfortable on this circuit,” said Bulega. “In some areas I have to think a lot about what I’m doing. It’s a bit complicated, but in the end we won another race. And that is absolutely incredible. We worked afterwards with the team after yesterday, as I was not a great fit, and today was much better. To achieve this record of consecutive wins is something special. I am proud and I hope we can continue like this. It is a dream to race for Ducati, with such a competitive bike, and to get these results with this team and this brand.”

Starting from pole position at Balaton Park, Bulega dominated Race 1 from start to finish, taking his 10th win of the season. The Ducati rider had over a one-second lead over the rest of the pack after the first lap and over four seconds on Lecuona when the Spaniard moved into second. From lap eight onward Bulega managed his pace and maintained a comfortable margin to the finish, having led all 21 laps and set the fastest lap.

Thanks to his record-breaking victory, Bulega increased his championship lead to 74 points over Lecuona, while an early start penalty cost Sam Lowes a few points, who was forced to finish only ninth. Lowes, third in the standings, now has a four-point lead over Oliveira.

Bulega’s winning streak is rooted in a simply extraordinary start to the season. The Emilian rider had already scored a string of ten consecutive victories at Portimao in late March, where he dominated all three races of the weekend in front of 82,132 spectators. On that occasion, with six victories out of six races held in the championship, he had already extended his lead in the standings to 56 points over Lecuona, bringing Ducati to a 50-point margin in the Constructors’ standings.

The path to these historic milestones had already begun from the first weekend of the season at Phillip Island, where Bulega had won all available races on Australian soil. With that hat trick, the Emilian had become the most successful Italian ever in the history of Superbike, surpassing Marco Melandri’s record and bringing his total to 23 successes in the category. A record that now adds to that of consecutive victories, making his 2026 season already legendary.

It should not be forgotten that Bulega arrives at these results after two consecutive years as vice world champion, both of which ended behind Toprak Razgatlioglu – now in MotoGP with Team Pramac Yamaha – by a margin of only 13 points in the last season. The hunger for the title accumulated during those years is now translating into an overwhelming supremacy, exactly as the rider himself had anticipated at the end of 2025: “The rivals will be the two BMW riders and Iker Lecuona,” he had declared, demonstrating that he knows the battlefield perfectly.

In the background, the question related to Bulega’s future remains open. The MotoGP dream, which the rider had made explicit publicly, clashes with a complex market scenario for 2027. With almost all Ducati already assigned – Marc Marquez expected to be confirmed in the factory team, Pedro Acosta arriving in Bagnaia’s place, and satellite teams VR46 and Gresini already oriented to other profiles – the space for the world leader appears reduced. His manager Alberto Martinelli confirmed the stalemate: “To date we do not have a written proposal in hand. Nicolò is not the first choice, otherwise he would already be settled, but we have to be ready if a space opens up.” In the meantime, Bulega holds the position of Ducati test rider for MotoGP, an opportunity his entourage considers valuable in view of an eventual jump in the category. The best response, however, Bulega continues to give on the track. And fourteen consecutive victories speak for themselves.