Bulega and Ducati Dominate
at Assen WorldSBK
E
ven WorldSBK's best friends
could see that the "Ducati
Cup" phrase, which has been
spat out at the WorldSBK
class since the exit of Toprak
Razgatlioglu and the arrival of
new-and-improved Panigale V4
R machines for all Ducati's 2026
customers, was proving to be
very apt at Assen.
Four Ducatis filled the top
spots in race one, four again in
the Superpole race, and—after a
weird tumble down the track po
-
sitions for their one main bimota
rival in race one and the Super-
pole race—there were six V4 Rs
squatting imperiously atop the
final Assen race's classification.
And of course, this year's
almost undisputed King Crimson
was the big winner again.
After taking Superpole, as
expected, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.
it Racing – Ducati) scored yet
another race win just a few
hours afterward.
He had, of course, set a new
track best for Superbike, with a
1:32.144 in Superpole qualifying.
He managed the race-one-
winning feat, but he had some
internal rivalry to deal with, as
his teammate Iker Lecuona led
early on and then passed him
again as a light mid-race rain
shower turned up, making the
riders a little nervous.
Once it had passed, Bulega
wicked it up again, passing his
teammate with ease as he won
his seventh race in succession
this year.
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS
Racing Team Ducati) looked
like he would catch the factory
Ducati duo once the rains fell,
but the clear leading trio would
shuffle themselves back into a
slightly spaced-out formation
before the flag after 21 laps.
WIND
IN THE
P32
Nicolo Bulega (11) is on a record-setting
charge right now as he led home Iker
Lecuona (7) and Sam Lowes (14) in all
three races.
PHOTOS: GOLD & GOOSE
