Italian motorcycle racing has a new world champion. Nicolò Bulega secured the 2026 World Superbike Championship at Cremona, completing an extraordinary season with Ducati and bringing the riders’ crown back to Italy after a 14-year wait.
The 26-year-old from Emilia-Romagna clinched the championship by finishing 2nd in Race 2 at the Italian round. Teammate Iker Lecuona won the race and completed a remarkable hat trick at Cremona, but Bulega’s runner-up finish was more than enough to mathematically seal the title with two rounds remaining.
Bulega becomes only the second Italian rider to win the World Superbike Championship, following Max Biaggi, who claimed the crown in 2010 and 2012. He is also the first Italian ever to win the championship aboard a Ducati.
His numbers underline the scale of the achievement. Bulega reached 602 championship points at Cremona after a season marked by exceptional consistency and speed. He also recorded 9 consecutive pole positions and set all-time lap records at every circuit visited before the Cremona round.
The victory adds another chapter to Ducati’s remarkable racing history. The Bologna manufacturer completed a 2026 triple crown – winning the riders’, manufacturers’ and teams’ championships. Ducati now has 17 WorldSBK riders’ titles, 22 manufacturers’ championships, 479 victories and 1,266 podium finishes since the series began in 1988.
For Bulega, the championship is his second world title with Ducati after winning World Supersport in 2023. He is the first rider to become world champion in both categories.
Winning at home made the moment even more significant – an Italian rider, on an Italian motorcycle, celebrating a world championship in front of the Italian crowd during Ducati’s centennial year.
