Ducati

The Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Team rider claimed his first world title in the premier production-based motorcycle racing category, taking the new Panigale V4 R to the top of the world. The second-place finish in Race 2 at the Cremona Circuit allowed Bulega to clinch the title with two rounds to spare, crowning a season of championship-wide dominance.

A historic achievement, coming right in the year of Ducati's Centenary, with Bulega becoming the first Italian rider to win the Superbike World Championship with Ducati, celebrating the title in front of his home crowd. Nicolò and the Panigale V4 R thus become the protagonists of an all-Italian triumph, the result of the perfect synergy between the talent of the Emilia-Romagna rider, the work of the Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Team and the supremacy of the Panigale V4 R, designed and developed in Borgo Panigale.

That the Riders' Title would be claimed by Ducati had already been a mathematical certainty since Donington, when, with four rounds still to go, Bulega and Lecuona were the only two riders left in contention for the World Championship. At Cremona, Nicolò's success, combined with Iker's three victories over the weekend, thus completes an extraordinary season for Ducati and further strengthens the Borgo Panigale manufacturer's record in WorldSBK. Present in the Championship since its inaugural edition in 1988, Ducati is the most successful manufacturer in the history of the category, with a record that includes 17 Riders' Titles, 22 Manufacturers' Titles, 479 victories and 1,266 podiums. Figures that reflect the Company's racing DNA and technological excellence, and its longstanding commitment to competing at the highest level and transferring the expertise gained on the racetrack to the production motorcycles destined for Ducati enthusiasts.

Claudio Domenicali, Ducati CEO: “There are victories whose meaning goes beyond the sporting result, and this is certainly one of them. Nicolò is the first Italian rider to become Superbike World Champion with Ducati, and he has done it in front of his home crowd, in the year in which we celebrate our centenary. It is difficult to imagine a more beautiful way to experience this moment! What makes me even prouder is thinking about everything that lies behind it. We have seen Nicolò grow with us, win in Supersport, establish himself in Superbike and become the extraordinary rider he is today. And together with him, we brought the new Panigale V4 R to the track, designed and developed in Borgo Panigale, facing the most ambitious goal right from its debut: to be immediately at the top, and that is exactly what happened. It won every race, and already at Donington, with four rounds still to go, the fight for the Riders' Title had become an all-Ducati battle, despite having to manage penalties that became progressively more severe over the course of the championship. My thanks go to all the women and men of Ducati, Ducati Corse and Aruba.it for making possible a result that speaks, better than any words, to the quality of the work we have done together. And once again, well done Nicolò, you are World Champion! Enjoy this moment because you have earned it. This title will forever remain an important part of our history, and it is a wonderful feeling to know that from next year we will continue this journey together, with an exciting new chapter for Nicolò in the MotoGP World Championship.”



Nicolò Bulega: a record-breaking season

Bulega has put his stamp on the 2026 Superbike World Championship from the very first races. The Emilia-Romagna talent, in perfect harmony with the Panigale V4 R, established himself as the rider to beat thanks to an extraordinary consistency of results. With two rounds remaining, his tally stands at 26 victories from 30 races, with four second-place finish, all behind teammate Iker Lecuona in four Aruba.it Racing - Ducati one-two.

The 2026 season has been marked by performances that showcase Bulega's extraordinary speed: 9 consecutive pole positions and an all-time lap record set at every circuit raced up to the Cremona round.

For Bulega, this is his second World Championship title with Ducati, following his Supersport crown in 2023. An achievement that makes him the first rider in history to become World Champion in both categories and delivers the Borgo Panigale manufacturer the 17th Riders' Title in its WorldSBK history.



The Panigale V4 R on top of the world

Alongside Bulega, the star of this triumphant season is the Panigale V4 R, the ultimate expression of the technical and sporting heritage that deeply links Ducati to the Superbike World Championship.

The latest descendant of a lineage that began in 2001, this Panigale V4 R brings the technological excellence developed at Borgo Panigale to the track, featuring solutions such as MotoGP-derived Corner Sidepods and the Ducati Racing Gearbox - innovations introduced for the first time on a road-legal Ducati motorcycle. A concrete example of the Ducati philosophy: developing solutions at the highest level of racing competition and transferring them to motorcycles destined for Ducati enthusiasts.

This continuity between product and racing has given rise to an unprecedented winning streak in WorldSBK over the last five years. In 2026, the new generation took up the legacy of the bike that had dominated the Championship since 2022, establishing itself as the undisputed leader right from its debut and remained unbeaten throughout the season. With 30 wins in 30 races, the Panigale V4 R secured its fifth consecutive Manufacturers' Title, bringing Ducati's total to 22 titles won across the Championship's 38 editions.

For this new generation, success extends beyond the track results to include design – which was already recognized in 2025 with three prestigious international awards: the Red Dot Award, the iF Design Award and the Good Design Award. A record of achievements that, in just two years, has seen the seventh generation of Ducati supersport motorcycles distinguish itself both on and off track.

The dynamic and beauty videos presenting the new Panigale V4 R are available on the Ducati YouTube channel. The press kit, containing product information and all images of the motorcycle, is available on Ducati Media House upon registration.



The figures behind a winning legacy:

479 victories
1,266 podiums – a record unmatched by any manufacturer in any category of motorcycle racing
The Panigale V4 R, along with the 916 and 999, is the only motorcycle to have won both the Riders' and Manufacturers' titles in the debut season



17 Riders' Titles

Raymond Roche - 1990
Doug Polen - 1991, 1992
Carl Fogarty - 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999
Troy Corser - 1996
Neil Hodgson - 2003
James Toseland - 2004
Troy Bayliss - 2001, 2006, 2008
Carlos Checa - 2011
Álvaro Bautista - 2022, 2023
Nicolò Bulega – 2026



22 Manufacturers' Titles

Ducati 888 (3 titles): 1991, 1992, 1993
Ducati 916 / 996 / 998 (8 titles): 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002
Ducati 999 (3 titles): 2003, 2004, 2006
Ducati 1098 / 1198 (3 titles): 2008, 2009, 2011
Ducati Panigale V4 R (5 titles): 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026



************* Honda HRC completes its best weekend of the season so far with Dixon sixth and Chantra in the points
Sixth for Honda HRC rider Dixon and points for Chantra as the factory team concludes its best weekend of the season so far
DIXON RD 10 CREMONA SUNDAY6B

The tenth Superbike World Championship round at Italy’s Cremona Circuit draws to a close, with Sunday’s races bringing further growth and learning for the Honda HRC team, as well as additional championship points and a best ever WorldSBK finish for Jake Dixon, P6 in Race 2.

The day began with a short warm-up, in which factory riders Jake Dixon and Somkiat Chantra carried out a few final checks with their technicians ahead of the day’s two races. The ten-lap Superpole race was next up, with the factory duo starting from the sixth row of the grid.

Having set himself the clear target of reaching the top nine in order to improve his starting position for Race 2, Dixon made immediate progress through the field. Within the space of just two laps, Jake had already worked his way up to eleventh place, immediately ahead of teammate Somkiat. With the top ten well within his sights, Jake continued to push, ultimately crossing the line ninth and doing exactly what was needed to secure a third-row start for Race 2. Keeping pace with his teammate until the final stages, Chantra slipped back a few places right at the end to finish thirteenth.

Their earlier performance in the sprint race meant that Dixon and Chantra positioned ninth and seventeenth respectively on the grid for the weekend’s final race, another 23-lapper that ran in the dry at 15.30 CET. Starting ninth, Dixon was tenth at the end of the opening lap but soon settled into a strong rhythm. Moving into ninth and then passing Gerloff for eighth, Jake was able to maintain a competitive pace and stay in touch with the group immediately ahead. Climbing to seventh by lap seven and eager to improve on his previous SBK best, Jake made the most of every opportunity today. His impressive pace and consistency allowed him to build a three-second lead over the rider immediately behind, which made it easier to manage the final phase of the race and confirm sixth place across the line. P6 represents a career best result for Dixon in WorldSBK.

Chantra faced a more challenging start to Race 2, dropping back during the opening stages as he struggled to push as he wanted. As the laps went by, however, the Thai rider became increasingly comfortable and was able to improve his pace and begin recovering positions. Finding slightly stronger pace than some of his closest rivals, he continued to make progress to secure P13, and three further championship points.

The riders’ combined results in Race 2 mark the Honda HRC team’s best combined performance so far this season. Just two rounds of the 2026 season remain, as the Honda HRC team prepares to race at Portugal’s Estoril Circuit on 9-11 October, followed immediately by the season finale at Jerez Circuit in Spain on 16-18 October.

Jake
Jake Dixon 96
Honda HRC

“A really good weekend. Especially after the crash on Friday and then the crash in qualifying, to come back and finish ninth, ninth and sixth, I couldn’t have asked for much more. In Race 2, I was sticking with the riders ahead but I’d already had a few warnings from the front and then I started to run out of rear grip. I had pushed as hard as I could from the beginning and used quite a lot of the tyre, so from there I just focused on bringing it home. Massive credit to the team for all their hard work, particularly considering the struggles we’ve had this year and my injury too. This may be a good track for the bike, but we need to take the positives when we have them and we can now head to Estoril with a bit more confidence. Hopefully we can do a little more work between the races so that we can keep pushing, stay in this kind of position and maybe fight a little more with riders like Alex. Anyway, as I said, I think we got all we could from the bike today, so I’m really, really happy.”

Somkiat
Somkiat Chantra 35
Honda HRC

“I’m very happy for Jake and the entire team because he finally got a very good result with sixth place, and this is also good for me and for the whole team. We are all working together to improve the bike and hopefully this can help us have a good future and fight further towards the front. As for my race today, the bike setup was actually good. I just struggled to push at the beginning and I’m not really sure why. When I tried to push, I found it quite difficult to stop the bike. Later in the race, I was able to push more and tried to recover a few positions. In the end, it was not so bad, and I’m satisfied with the work we’ve done.”


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BMW

ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team takes important step forward at Cremona.


Tenth round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship at Cremona, Italy.
Performance improved with both BMW M 1000 RRs.
Top-five finishes are within reach again.


Cremona. The hard work has paid off. At the tenth round of the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) season at Cremona (ITA), the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team made an important step forward. Following a difficult weekend at Magny-Cours, France, three weeks ago, BMW Motorrad Motorsport and the team have now succeeded in improving the performance of both
BMW M 1000 RRs once again. Miguel Oliveira (POR) was running in fifth position after a strong start in Sunday’s second race, while Danilo Petrucci (ITA) impressed with strong comebacks through the field.

Saturday morning’s Superpole qualifying was something of a lottery as several riders crashed, and the resulting yellow flags repeatedly interrupted the others’ pursuit of fast lap times. That also affected the two BMW Motorrad factory riders, who consequently did not always have a clear track. At the end of the session, Oliveira and Petrucci had qualified ninth and 19th respectively.

In Saturday afternoon’s first main race, Petrucci finished 14th to score two points. Oliveira was one of several riders who slid and crashed out. In Sunday morning’s Superpole Race, Oliveira finished eighth, improving his position on the grid for the second main race. Petrucci made up numerous positions in the ten-lap sprint and took the chequered flag in 11th place. In the second main race, Oliveira worked his way into the top five after a strong start. However, he then crashed and was unable to convert the potential into the corresponding result. Petrucci once again battled his way through the field with determined overtakes and finished the weekend in 12th place.

Two race weekends remain in the final stages of the season. The action continues from 9th to 11th October at Estoril, Portugal, followed one week later (16th to 18th October) by the season finale at Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.

Reactions after the Cremona round.

Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “Here at Cremona, we found our way back in the right direction, and the weekend gives us reason for optimism. With Miguel, we could have achieved top-five finishes if it had not been for the crashes. Now we need to continue working on making sure that he can convert this into race results. Danilo is also heading in the right direction, even though we are not yet where we want to be. The most important thing is that both riders are focusing towards the front again. That gives the entire team a boost, but we also know that there is still a lot of work ahead of us. Congratulations to Ducati and Nicolò Bulega on winning the title early. He is a worthy champion and has had an incredible season. We will give everything to make the championship exciting again next year.”

Danilo Petrucci, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “It was really nice to race in Italy again. The weekend started with difficulties but we gave our maximum. In Sunday’s races, my last ones at home, I made quite a lot of overtakes. The race wasn’t the best, but I fought really, really hard. That’s what I enjoy. I want to thank everyone who came here to cheer for me, and all the BMW crew who are always pushing – they’re the best. I’d like to finish the season strong. I can’t wait to go to the next race; we’ve been testing at Estoril so let’s push there.”

Miguel Oliveira, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team: “Cremona was a tough pill to swallow, especially race two. We had a really good pace and track position to achieve an excellent result. Unfortunately, in Turn 10, I took a little more rear brake, the bike started to chatter, and I couldn’t stay on top of it. It’s frustrating, but I think we’re in a better position than we were after Magny-Cours, so that’s already good. It would have been nice to go to my home race with some momentum from a good result, but this won’t take away our determination to have a very good weekend for the Portuguese fans. I’m looking forward to it.”


*************

Yamaha

On the hottest day of the weekend, Andrea Locatelli demonstrated tenacity and consistency to secure P10 in both the Superpole Race and Race 2, roared on by his home fans at the Cremona Circuit in Round 10 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship.

The Italian round drew to a close on Sunday under summer-like heat, with packed grandstands turning out to witness the day's two races at the Cremona Circuit.
​
The #55 and his crew made steady improvements across the weekend, helping the Italian feel increasingly comfortable on his R1 WorldSBK and seeking solutions to help with future development. After a strong Race 1 P7, “Loka” carried momentum into Sunday, fighting through to tenth in the Superpole Race and backing it up with another top-10 finish in Race 2, to cap a consistent day on home ground.
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On the other side of the box, Vierge worked hard with his crew to find a better feeling with his R1 WorldSBK. The Spaniard crossed the line in P12 in the morning's sprint race, but his afternoon ended early when he went down in Race 2 while battling within the same group as his team-mate. He and the team will work to understand the challenges faced in Cremona and come back stronger at the next round.
​
Attention now turns to the Circuito Estoril in Portugal in two weeks' time – the penultimate round of the season.
 
Andrea Locatelli – SPRC: P10 / Race 2: P10

"For sure it wasn't the easiest weekend for us, but we came away with some reasonable results. We scored decent points and learned a lot - we worked really hard from Friday to improve the setup – and we made some good steps and gathered plenty of useful data. So I'm quite happy with the job we're doing, because we're building for the future. Of course it's still not enough, and we knew Cremona has always been a tricky circuit for us, but I think this year we showed a little more potential. I hope we can keep this trend going and continue improving at a track I really enjoy – the next race in Estoril. Now the goal is to finish the season as strongly as we can, and to keep working hard to come back in 2027 a lot more competitive."


Xavi Vierge – SPRC: P12 / Race 2: DNF

"First of all, I want to apologise to the team – three crashes over the weekend isn't what any of us wanted. It's been a really difficult one. We started off reasonably well on Friday, but after the crash in FP2 we lost our way a little: we couldn't get back the speed and the good feeling I'd had on Friday, and I was never quite able to be competitive. I gave everything to find the best setup possible, but unfortunately I went down again in Race 2. So I can only say sorry. Now we need to take a step back, understand what happened this weekend, and come back stronger."

*************

Bimota Kawasaki

Lowes Takes Fifth Place In Final Cremona Race



After two races at Cremona on Sunday, Alex Lowes (BbKRT) scored the best individual result of the weekend with a fifth place in Race Two. Axel Bassani ended the final Italian-based race of 2026 in ninth position, for his second points score of the weekend.

In the ten-lap Superpole ‘sprint’ Race, on Sunday morning, Alex was the top bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team finisher, in sixth place, after using a revised base set-up on his bimota KB998 Rimini on Sunday. Axel was run off track by another rider on the second lap of the sprint race, and although he got back on track, in such a short race he was not able to make up any track positions and finished 16th.

The last of three races for the BbKRT riders, Race Two, was held over 23 laps in the middle of the afternoon, and took place in warm and pleasant conditions.

Using his Superpole Race settings once more, Lowes was in the just off-podium mix through Race Two and was riding in fifth place for the vast majority of the 23 laps. He would finish there and score 11 championship points as a result.

Bassani’s fortunes were much improved for Race Two, and at the end he was able to fight for a time until he lost a little traction at the front and rear, finishing ninth. He secured more points for a weekend of hard work at bimota’s home round.

In the championship points table, Alex leaves the tenth of 12 rounds in fourth position, with a total of 226 points. Axel is seventh overall, with 184 points. He is just nine points away from a sixth-place ranking, with six individual WorldSBK races still to go.

Back-to-back WorldSBK rounds complete the 2026 WorldSBK Championship campaign, with Estoril hosting the penultimate race weekend between 9-11 October, and Jerez being the venue for the series finale, between 16-18 October.

Alex Lowes, stated: “It was a better Sunday for us. We made a bigger change than we normally would in a race weekend between Race One and the warm-up session today. It felt really good in the cooler conditions of the Superpole Race, so we stuck with it for Race Two in the afternoon. It felt really good again, but there were a couple of points on the front where I was a little bit nervous and the bike was sliding a bit. Apart from that, I think we were faster, and I was a lot closer to the Independent Ducatis, which was our target. I was also a little bit closer to the front of the race compared to yesterday. We have to be really happy because we made some good progress, made no mistakes, and enjoyed the final Cremona race. It was not an easy track here, but there were lots of fans, and it was a great weekend. We did our best, and we will keep pushing to get a bit better.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “It was quite a difficult round, and in the Superpole race in the morning, we arrived last, which was the first time for me. A new experience. This afternoon, we started the race, and my feeling was really good in the first laps. I tried to battle a little bit with Garrett Gerloff, but in the last six laps, I started to struggle a lot with the front and also the rear. So, I had to slow down a little bit. We lost some time and finished P9, but we took some more points for the championship, which is good. Now we have one week to relax, and then we will go fully focused on the last two rounds of the championship. We can fight for P6 in the rankings, and we are very near, so we will try our maximum.”


************

WSBK Media

In front of his home crowd, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) wrapped up his first Superbike World Championship with a trio of second-place finishes at the Italian Round. Bulega’s form throughout the season has been almost peerless, with 26 victories, podium finishes in all 30 races and an insurmountable 133-point advantage over his teammate, Iker Lecuona.

Race 2 Highlights

Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) started from pole position and led all 23 laps to complete a perfect weekend. The Spaniard claimed his first career hat-trick, leading every lap across all three races at Cremona.

Bulega had to resist an early charge from Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) through the first sector. He then settled into second, with around half a second separating him from Lecuona before the gap extended to one second.

Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) started from fourth and attacked Alberto Surra on Lap 3 to move into the podium positions. Following his Race 1 crash, Montella bounced back strongly to claim his 14th podium of the campaign.

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) finished fourth as the leading non-Ducati rider after 23 laps. Lowes was under pressure from his brother Sam (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), who crashed at Turn 13 at half distance. With three top-six finishes across the weekend, Alex Lowes enjoyed a consistent Cremona Round.

Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) secured a career-best WorldSBK result in sixth position. The rookie has endured a difficult campaign while continuing to recover from a serious wrist injury, but showed strong form at Cremona to score points in all three races. It was Honda’s strongest weekend of the season.

Championship Highlights

Bulega wrapped up his first Superbike title with six races to spare and holds a 133 point lead over Lecuona.

Montella’s hold on third in the standings now stretches to 43 points after a difficult weekend that featured four crashes.

Barni Spark Racing Team’s results this weekend secured the Independent Teams Championship.

P1 – Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It’s been a perfect weekend. What we found on Friday with the bike gave me confidence on the bike. I rode gently, I rode strong, I can fight. And then I won the two races on Sunday. It was great because I didn’t expect to have that much of a difference with Nicolò. I need to be honest that Nicolo, of course, his focus was on finishing the race and winning the championship, but even like that, he struggled a lot while I was doing very well. I’m enjoying it a lot, so thanks to the team because they did a really good job.”

P2 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“This weekend was quite emotional because there was the possibility of closing out the title, and it was difficult to manage all the pressure, but in the end we did it and I’m very happy. Especially after Friday, when I crashed twice. So it’s been difficult. Before the race today, I was thinking, ‘Okay, no crash, don’t do anything stupid, just bring the bike to the chequered flag.’ I had to think a lot today, and at the end, after the chequered flag, I started to cry. It was a very special moment.”

P3 - Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team)
“After the difficulties of this weekend, it was important to have a Sunday like that. We need to meet the target because we need to be in the fight for third in the Championship, and at the moment we cannot make a lot of mistakes. At the end, this morning I started in the Superpole Race trying just to build my confidence with the bike, and in the end I was fighting for third again. In Race 2 I wanted to try to fight for the podium, and we did it. I’m so, so proud of myself and proud also of my team.”


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