Nicolò Bulega Remains in Pole Position; His Record-Breaking Streak Extends at Magny-Cours

Nicolò Bulega shows no signs of slowing down and has set yet another record. The Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider secured his tenth consecutive pole position in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Magny-Cours, reaffirming his lead in the world championship standings. The championship leader will therefore start from pole position in the Acerbis Round of France as well. On the French circuit, Bulega finished ahead of Sam Lowes of the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team and his teammate Iker Lecuona, following a Superpole session that remained tightly contested right up until the final minutes.

In the first phase, it was Lecuona who set the pace. The Ducati rider clocked a 1’34.676, with a 212-thousandths lead over his teammate Bulega. Sam Lowes was provisionally third with a time of 1’35.152. Bulega’s response came at the decisive moment. The World Championship leader clocked a 1’34.318—a new Magny-Cours circuit record—and secured first place for good. For Ducati, this marks the second pole position in history at Magny-Cours, following the one secured by James Toseland in 2003. Lowes, second by just 168 thousandths, thus matched his best Superpole result of the season. Bulega also claimed the 2026 Tissot Superpole Award.

Behind the top three is Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), fourth with a time of 1’34.872 and 554 thousandths behind the pole. Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) staged a strong comeback, climbing from eleventh to fifth place. Rounding out the second row is Alex Lowes (Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), sixth, 906 thousandths behind Bulega.

Seventh place went to Tommy Bridewell, who posted his best Superpole performance despite a crash late in the session at Turn 15. The Superbike Advocates rider, however, will be forced to start from the back of the grid in Race 1 for failing to respect the yellow flags. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) also crashed, getting involved in an incident at Turn 8 in the closing stages. Despite the crash, Baldassarri finished eighth, ahead of Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Jake Dixon (Honda HRC). Further back was Axel Bassani, who could not do better than 17th place. Behind him were ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team riders Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira, who had to fight their way back through the field.