King of Most: Bulega's Unstoppable Czech Performance

Nicolo Bulega, WorldSBK

The 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship arrived at the Autodrom Most for Round 5 of the season, and by the end of the weekend the story was a familiar one: Nicolo Bulega and Ducati were once again untouchable.

Across qualifying, the Superpole Race and both feature races, Bulega completed a perfect hat-trick, extending one of the most remarkable winning streaks in WorldSBK history. While the Italian's dominance continued, there were also standout performances from Iker Lecuona, Yari Montella, Garrett Gerloff and several rising stars as the championship battle moved deeper into the season.

Saturday morning's Superpole session set the tone for the weekend.

Championship leader Nicolo Bulega delivered a stunning lap of 1:29.616 to claim pole position, shattering the existing Autodrom Most lap record and securing his fifth pole position of the season. The Aruba.it Ducati rider looked untouchable throughout the session, finishing nearly three tenths of a second clear of the field.

Behind him, fellow Ducati rider Yari Montella produced another impressive performance to secure second on the grid, while Iker Lecuona completed the front row.

The Superpole top 10 consisted of: Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing Ducati) – 1:29.616 followed by Yari Montella (Barni Ducati); Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing Ducati); Sam Lowes (Marc VDS Ducati); Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Ducati); Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki); Axel Bassani (Bimota); Lorenzo Baldassarri (GoEleven Ducati); Danilo Petrucci (BMW) and Stefano Manzi (Yamaha)

The results highlighted Ducati's overwhelming pace around Most, with six Ducati machines occupying the top eight positions.

Race 1 initially saw drama when Danilo Petrucci suffered a heavy crash that brought out a red flag. The BMW rider was later diagnosed with injuries that ruled him out of the remainder of the weekend.

Following the restart, Bulega wasted no time asserting himself at the front. Although Montella briefly looked capable of challenging for a podium, factory Ducati teammate Iker Lecuona moved into second place and began chasing the championship leader.

The fight for victory never truly materialised, however. Bulega controlled the race from the front and crossed the line 1.3 seconds ahead of Lecuona, while Montella completed an all-Ducati podium. Garrett Gerloff delivered one of Kawasaki's strongest performances of the season with fourth place, ahead of Axel Bassani.

Sunday morning's 10-lap Superpole Race offered the best chance for someone to challenge Bulega.

That possibility briefly became reality when the Italian ran wide at Turn 1 on the opening lap, dropping from the lead to third position. For a moment it looked as though Lecuona might finally have an opportunity to break the streak.

Instead, Bulega responded immediately.

He dispatched Montella on the opening lap, overtook Lecuona shortly afterwards and then steadily pulled away. Consistently lapping in the 1:29 range, he opened a comfortable advantage to claim another victory.

Lecuona secured second place while Montella claimed another podium finish in third. Lorenzo Baldassarri and Alberto Surra completed a Ducati-dominated top five.

With two victories already secured, Bulega entered Race 2 aiming to complete a clean sweep.

The final race of the weekend followed a familiar script. Lecuona remained close throughout the race and briefly looked capable of mounting a challenge, but Bulega's pace proved too strong once again. The championship leader crossed the finish line just under six-tenths of a second ahead of his teammate.

Further back, Montella continued his breakthrough season by securing third place once more, completing a remarkable weekend in which he stood on the podium in every WorldSBK race.

Lorenzo Baldassarri finished fourth while Garrett Gerloff won an entertaining battle for fifth against Alberto Surra. Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani also enjoyed competitive races inside the top eight.

The Czech Round further strengthened Bulega's championship lead. His perfect weekend extended a remarkable winning streak and reinforced Ducati's overwhelming advantage at this stage of the season. Lecuona remains his closest challenger, while Montella's podium-filled weekend moved him firmly into the fight for the top three in the standings.

The 2026 Czech Round belonged entirely to Nicolo Bulega. Pole position, a new lap record, victory in Race 1, victory in the Superpole Race and victory in Race 2 completed one of the most dominant weekends of the season.

While rivals continue searching for answers, Ducati's star rider appears unstoppable. As the championship moves on to the next round, the question is no longer whether Bulega can win—but whether anyone can stop him.

Written by Lauren Moore