Bulega and Ducati claim 2026 Superbike World Championship with Panigale V4 R
Nicolò Bulega sealed the 2026 Superbike World Championship at Cremona, becoming the first Italian rider to win the title with Ducati and handing the Borgo Panigale marque the triple crown.
- 26 of 30 races
- 17
- 22
- 479
What Happened
Nicolò Bulega is the 2026 Superbike World Champion, clinching the title with a second-place finish in Race 2 at the Cremona Circuit with two rounds still to run. The Aruba.it Racing - Ducati rider took his first world title in the premier production-based motorcycle racing category aboard the new Panigale V4 R, celebrating in front of his home crowd. He becomes the first Italian rider to win the Superbike World Championship with Ducati, in the year of Ducati's Centenary. Ducati and the Aruba Team also secured the triple crown of Riders', Manufacturers' and Teams' Titles, capping a year of total dominance. At Cremona, team-mate Iker Lecuona took three victories over the weekend.
Bulega's season has been record-breaking: with two rounds remaining he has 26 victories from 30 races and four second-place finishes, all behind team-mate Iker Lecuona in four Aruba.it Racing - Ducati one-two finishes. He took nine consecutive pole positions and set an all-time lap record at every circuit raced up to the Cremona round. Ducati's Riders' Title was already mathematically certain since Donington, where with four rounds still to go Bulega and Lecuona were the only two riders left in contention. It is Bulega's second World Championship with Ducati after his Supersport crown in 2023, making him the first rider in history to become World Champion in both categories, and it is Ducati's 17th Riders' Title.
Ducati competes in the Superbike World Championship's inaugural edition and has been present in the series ever since.
The lineage that leads to the current Panigale V4 R begins.
Ducati's dominance of the Championship with the previous generation of the bike begins.
Bulega wins the Supersport World Championship with Ducati.
Bulega clinches the Riders' Title at Cremona with two rounds to spare as the Panigale V4 R completes 30 wins in 30 races.
- Nicolò Bulega
- Ducati — 22nd in its history and fifth consecutive for the Panigale V4 R
- Aruba.it Racing - Ducati
- Undefeated in its debut WorldSBK year: 30 wins in 30 races.
- Secured its fifth consecutive Manufacturers' Title, taking Ducati to 22 titles across the Championship's 38 editions.
- Features MotoGP-derived Corner Sidepods and the Ducati Racing Gearbox, introduced for the first time on a road-legal Ducati motorcycle.
- Along with the 916 and 999, the only motorcycle to have won both the Riders' and Manufacturers' titles in its debut season.
- Recognised in 2025 with three international design awards: the Red Dot Award, the iF Design Award and the Good Design Award.
- The seventh generation of Ducati supersport motorcycles, distinguished on and off track in just two years.
1,266
A record unmatched by any manufacturer in any category of motorcycle racing, according to Ducati.
“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. ... 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. ... 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.”
Previously from Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.
Coming into the Cremona round, Bulega led the WorldSBK standings and needed three match points to secure the 2026 title in front of Italian fans, with Ducati team-mate Iker Lecuona chasing a second win. Lecuona went on to top both Friday practice sessions at Cremona, while Bulega ended the day second despite crashing twice.
- Bulega can seal WorldSBK title at Cremona as Ducati team-mate Lecuona hunts second win
- Lecuona fastest in both Friday practices at Cremona as Bulega takes second despite two crashes
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.'s official releases.
Why this matters
The title arrives in Ducati's centenary year and delivers the Riders', Manufacturers' and Teams' crowns in a single season with the new Panigale V4 R. Ducati says it develops solutions at the highest level of racing and transfers them to the motorcycles it sells to enthusiasts, so an unbeaten debut season is presented as proof of that link. Ducati's CEO also says Bulega will start an exciting new chapter in MotoGP next year.
Terms in This Story
- WorldSBK
- The Superbike World Championship, a premier production-based motorcycle racing series.
- Riders' Title
- The championship awarded to the rider who scores the most points over a season.
- Manufacturers' Title
- The championship awarded to the motorcycle brand whose bikes score the most points over a season.
- pole position
- The first starting spot on the grid for a race, earned through qualifying.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.