#PortugueseWorldSBK Sunday Roundup

Posted March 30, 2026

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Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Nicolò Bulega completed a flawless Sunday at Portimão, turning a dominant Superpole Race victory into another commanding win in Race Two to underline his control of the 2026 WorldSBK season so far.

The foundation for his success was laid in the ten-lap Superpole Race. From the moment the lights went out, Bulega was in a class of his own, leading from the front with confidence and precision. The Ducati rider not only controlled the race throughout but also set a new lap record, stretching his advantage by nearly two seconds by the chequered flag. It was a performance that left little doubt about its place, with no rider able to mount a serious challenge.

Behind him, the race unfolded very differently. His teammate, Iker Lecuona, was immediately put on the back foot after a poor start, dropping him to fourth on the opening lap. However, the Spaniard responded quickly, showing strong racecraft as he worked his way past both bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team’s Alex Lowes and ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team’s Miguel Oliveira at half distance. His recovery secured second place by the finish, marking an important turnaround after the early setback.

For Oliveira, the Superpole Race still delivered a positive result. Racing in front of a passionate home crowd, he completed the podium in third. While unable to match Lecuona’s late-race pace, his performance added to what was already shaping up to be a strong weekend in Portugal.

Further down the order, Barni Spark Racing Team’s Álvaro Bautista faced a more challenging outing. Starting from the fourth row, the double WorldSBK champion could only manage in ninth place, collecting the final point available. Despite the limited result, it proved significant, as it secured him a third-row start for Race Two later in the day.

When Race Two got underway, the pattern at the front remained unchanged. Starting from pole position, Bulega once again took control immediately, leading every lap of the race. As in the Superpole Race, he steadily built a gap to the riders behind, eventually crossing the line with a margin of just under two seconds. The victory marked his consecutive win, placing him alongside Jonathan Rea, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, and Álvaro Bautista as the fourth rider in WorldSBK history to achieve such a milestone.

Lecuona’s Race Two followed a similar trajectory to his earlier outing. Another slow start saw him drop positions on the opening lap, but once again he responded decisively. By Lap Four, he had fought his way back into second place after overtaking both Oliveira and Alex Lowes. From there, he managed the race effectively to secure another strong finish and maintain his position as Bulega’s closest challenger in the championship standings.

The battle for third once again featured Oliveira at its centre. Backed by a weekend crowd of over 82,000 spectators, the Portuguese rider faced sustained pressure throughout the 20-lap race. Despite this, he delivered a composed and consistent performance to secure another podium finish, completing a clean sweep of third places across the weekend.

Elsewhere, ELF Marc VDS Racing Team’s Sam Lowes continued his consistent form with a fifth-place finish, while Team Goeleven’s Lorenzo Baldassari impressed with a strong recovery from the four throw of the grid to finish sixth. However, not all riders saw the chequered flag. Turn Five proved particularly unforgiving, claiming both Bautista and teammate Yari Montella, while Pata Maxus Yamaha’s Xavi Vierge crashed earlier in the race.

In the championship standings, Bulega’s perfect run of six wins from six races sees him extend his lead to 56 points over Lecuona. Ducati’s strongest position in the Manufacturers’ standings, opening up a 50-point advantage and reinforcing their early-season dominance.

Bulega’s spoke of the effort into his perfect weekend: “Yesterday I was at 90%, and today, 95%.  So, every session, every day, 5% more. So I’m happy. Honestly, we didn’t make the test a couple of weeks ago.  So I think we arrive now, and we are a bit late on the setup of the bike. Friday, I had a very bad feeling. Saturday, better, and today even more better.  It was a fantastic weekend. Another one, and I’m enjoying it a lot at this moment. This has been a very good weekend, and it’s a special Sunday for me. I won the Superpole Race this morning and then Race 2. We improved the bike a lot compared to yesterday, and my feeling was much better today, so I’m really happy about that. We didn’t start the weekend in the best way, and I had a very bad feeling wıth the bike, so it was hard to push the way I wanted. But we worked hard with the team and never gave up. Every day we found a solution, and by Sunday the bike was very, very good. I want to thank my team for helping me improve and to be faster. I’m very proud to be part of this project. They have worked incredibly hard, and they truly deserve this result.”

Lecuona gave a realistic view of his goals this season after a brilliant weekend: “Finishing P2 is the real target for me right now. Today we were even closer compared to Nicolo and had a very similar pace, but once again, my start wasn’t the best. I need to work on that. In any case, I’m very happy, and I’m especially happy for the team because it’s the first time in their history that they’ve achieved P1 and P2 in all three races of a weekend. The team worked so hard, and the bike was incredible today. I’m very impressed with my performance and my feeling […] We’ve taken a very important step forward since Australia. There’s great harmony within the team; our goal is to improve session by session. We’re doing that, and it gives me great confidence. It’s been a very rewarding weekend.”

Oliveira spoke about the pressure of a home crowd and wanting to improve: “I’m happy to be on the podium in front of my home crowd. It was special for sure to get all the crowds cheering my name and supporting BMW. That was a really, really cool moment. I am happy because it is a good start. We know that we have work ahead of us, but we are motivated to work, and this is a small reward for the team to show that we are heading in a good direction, that the package is working with me, and we should just focus on taking out the maximum we can from ourselves, from my riding and from this bike. The weekend has been super solid, already since Saturday morning. It’s true that today I struggled much more because I used the front tyre too much. The conditions were slightly different. In race two, I had Alex Lowes behind me, but I just forgot about him and did my own race. I tried not to do any mistakes and be as consistent as possible. It was just enough to come home in third. I know it’s only the second round, and I feel there is some happiness, but at the same time, we want to achieve more. There is not any kind of pressure, but we know where we want to go and we have many opportunities and many races to come. So I‘m looking forward to keep learning and keep getting the best out of the bike and myself.”

Tissot Superpole Race Results