nine in the top 12.
The super-hot October
weather gave way to lightning
flashing in the skies and dark
clouds among the white ones on
Sunday morning.
Could we have wet Sunday
races to peg back the Ducati
dominators?
No, not really, as the Super-
pole Race finished Bulega, Lecu-
ona and then Sam Lowes, in the
dry. Montella was fourth, and a
still-battling Alex Lowes fifth.
He and his brother Sam were
now really locked in a battle for
who would finish fourth overall.
Bautista was also playing a
hard hand of last-chance saloon
poker, aiming for a final race
chance to take a podium. He
went sixth, moving up one row.
In race two, again the two-
time champion Bautista pushed
himself so hard to end a Span-
ish round with a podium, and he
almost got there.
He had stressed his tires too
much to keep the closing Sam
Lowes behind him and, on the fi-
nal lap, Lowes eased past to take
another one of his triple podium
weekends.
There were six Ducatis ahead
of Lowes in a final race that saw
some uncertainty introduced
when light rain came along in
the final few laps, but moving so
slowly from sector to sector that
it was more of a psychological
worry than a real one.
As Bulega took his 32nd
win of 2026, in a special Paul
Smart-inspired silver-grey paint
scheme, just as he rolled into the
winners' circle and the celebra-
tions could begin, a truly torren-
tial downpour engulfed Jerez,
and the riders sat down for their
media duties soaking wet.
Bulega was, as ever, as un-
fazed as he was unstoppable.
New dad Garrett Gerloff
(Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) had
a less-than-ideal finish to 2026
(14-13-14 in the races) but ended
up in the top 10 in the champion-
ship rankings. A small miracle
with nine fast Ducatis around.
"We definitely had some ups
and a few downs, but all in all, I
am happy with the whole team
and the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-
VOLUME 63 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 20, 2026 P47
Jeremy Alcoba (52) bid his time
with Kawasaki adieu with the race-
two win in WorldSSP.
