WorldSBK returns from its summer time break for Spherical 9 of the 2026 season on the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, the place championship chief Nicolo Bulega may, mathematically, clinch his first world title on French soil.
This weekend may show decisive within the 2026 WorldSBK championship. Uncontested chief this yr, Nicolo Bulega has conceded just one race win to his Ducati teammate Iker Lecuona out of 24 begins thus far. The Italian might but seal the deal in Magny-Cours.
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A possible title decider in France
Nicolo Bulega heads into the French spherical with 491 factors, 133 away from teammate Iker Lecuona on 358. The championship chief arrives in France with a commanding benefit, having already taken two wins on the circuit in 2024.
To safe his first WorldSBK crown, the Montecchio Emilia native should outscore Lecuona by 53 factors throughout the three races. If he have been to win all three begins, Bulega would equal Toprak Razgatlioglu’s all-time file of 11 triple-race clear sweeps.
That may be a tall order after a closely packed summer time. The MotoGP-aspiring rider spent a lot of the break testing completely different equipment, juggling a number of initiatives.
“This summer time I solely took one week of trip,” he shared with media in Magny-Cours, together with Motorsport Week. “Over the past a part of the summer time, I used to be always testing issues for MotoGP and different initiatives. It’s not simple switching from one world to a different. Tomorrow, particularly in FP1, I count on it received’t be simple for me since I spent 4 or 5 days testing with the MotoGP bike over the summer time. Tomorrow morning, it’ll really feel a bit unusual coming again to Superbike, however by FP2 I ought to be prepared.”
“I’ll all the time be on the market to win”
With 23 wins because the begin of the 2026 season, Bulega is closing in on Alvaro Bautista’s single-season file of 27 victories set in 2023.
“I do know Álvaro Bautista received 27 races in 2023, and I’m at 23 thus far this yr. It will be nice to win much more. The title is necessary, however for me, successful races issues too, Bulega insisted. I’ll by no means change my strategy. I’ll all the time be on the market to win.”
On the opposite aspect of the Ducati storage, Iker Lecuona will intention so as to add one other victory to his tally, constructing on the momentum of his breakthrough win in Race 1 at Donington Park – his first success in 141 WorldSBK begins, achieved by ending Bulega’s 25-race successful streak by simply 0.165 seconds.
Rivals regroup after non-public checks
To attempt to compete with Ducati, Honda HRC and ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Staff undertook non-public checks at Magny-Cours and Estoril over the summer time with their riders, most of whom missed a part of the 2026 marketing campaign by way of harm. With each lately re-signed Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci again to full health, BMW hopes to seize treasured factors, whereas Honda’s riders and engineers are working arduous to convey the CBR1000RR-R again to a strong degree.
At the moment thirteenth within the standings, MGM Optical Categorical Racing’s Tarran Mackenzie will miss one other spherical after his Donington Park crash, the place he sustained fractures to his left clavicle, left scapula, left tibia and left fibula. Regardless of surgical procedure and rehabilitation, he failed the pre-round medical verify and has been declared unfit; his crew is not going to subject a substitute rider in France.