Nicolò Bulega, 2026 Superbike World Champion, is now a mathematician
Nicolò Bulega is the 2026 Superbike World Champion. The Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider clinched the title early following an extraordinary season, in which he broke several records and dictated the pace of the championship. This is a historic achievement for the rider from Emilia, who reached the top after a journey that was anything but easy.
With Razgatlioglu’s move to MotoGP, Bulega starts the 2026 season as one of the top favorites. The new Ducati Panigale V4 immediately proved competitive, and the rider from Emilia turned the season into a long string of records. In the first eight rounds, he claimed 23 victories, 21 of which were consecutive. Including the four wins he secured at the end of 2025, his streak reached 25 consecutive victories. His Superpole performance is equally impressive: nine pole positions in 2026—ten in a row if you include the one he secured at Jerez in the final race of the previous season—before breaking the record once again at Cremona.
Bulega finished on the podium in every race he competed in throughout the season, building—step by step—an insurmountable lead. Among the most significant moments of his 2026 season was his victory in Race 2 at Phillip Island, secured with a lead of over 11 seconds. In the Netherlands, he overtook his teammate Iker Lecuona, while at Balaton Park he secured his 14th consecutive victory, breaking the record previously held by Razgatlioglu.
In the Czech Republic, the internal battle between the two factory Ducatis continued. At Aragon, however, a risky tire choice in the Superpole Race gave Bulega one of the most spectacular victories of the season. At Misano, he then clinched a one-two-three finish in front of tens of thousands of Italian fans.
With the title clinched in 2026, Bulega became the second Italian to be crowned Superbike World Champion after Max Biaggi, who won the title in 2010 and 2012 with Aprilia. But his record is even more remarkable: Bulega is, in fact, the first rider in history to win both the WorldSSP and WorldSBK world titles.
From the enormous expectations at the start of his career to the challenges in Moto3 and Moto2, through what seemed to be his last chance to remain in professional motorcycle racing, all the way to his double world championship victory. Bulega’s journey has thus reached its pinnacle: at 26, he is the Superbike World Champion.
