Bulega fastest in both Friday practice sessions at Estoril, Lecuona third for Ducati
Nicolò Bulega topped both FP1 and FP2 at the Estoril Superbike World Championship round, with Aruba.it Racing – Ducati teammate Iker Lecuona third, just 0.084 seconds behind.
- 0.084 seconds
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What Happened
Newly crowned Superbike World Champion Nicolò Bulega topped Friday practice at the Estoril Round, the eleventh round of the 2026 season, leading both FP1 and FP2. His Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team teammate Iker Lecuona finished the day third after steady progress, ending the session just 0.084 seconds behind Bulega. Both riders took to the track in FP1 and FP2 without using the soft rear tyre. The 2026 season ends in just over a week at Jerez de la Frontera.
0.084seconds
Third place for the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider on Friday at Estoril
“I'm pleased because we immediately found again the feeling that we had been missing a little in Cremona. We still need to fine-tune a few details, but I definitely think we are on the right path.”
“It was a Friday with a few ups and downs. In FP1, the feeling wasn't great, but in FP2 we took a big step forward. We need to work on the data to get back to the feeling we had in Cremona. Overall, I'm very confident.”
- Nicolò Bulega fastest in both FP1 and FP2
- Iker Lecuona third, 0.084 seconds behind his teammate
- Neither Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider used the soft rear tyre
- Estoril is the eleventh round of the 2026 season
- The season ends in just over a week at Jerez de la Frontera
Previously from Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.
Ahead of this weekend, our coverage noted that every 2026 WorldSBK title had already been decided, with Nicolò Bulega newly crowned champion. Bulega needs two wins from the final six races of the season to set the all-time WorldSBK wins record.
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.'s official releases.
Why this matters
Estoril is the eleventh round of the 2026 Superbike World Championship, and the season ends just over a week later at Jerez de la Frontera, so this weekend is the run-in to the finale. For the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team, Friday practice is where the bike's base set-up is established, and both riders did their work without using the soft rear tyre. Friday's times give Ducati, its rivals and the fans following the season's closing rounds a first read on form at Estoril.
Terms in This Story
- FP1 and FP2
- The first two free practice sessions of a race weekend, used by teams and riders to set up the bike and compare tyre options before qualifying and the races.
- soft rear tyre
- A softer-compound rear tyre that offers more grip but usually wears faster, so teams often choose not to run it in practice.
- Superbike World Champion
- The rider title in the Superbike World Championship, a production-bike-based racing series run on the international motorcycle calendar.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.