He won the first race of the season at Phillip Island and has won the last one in Jerez and, in between, another 30 to end up adding a total of 32 victories in 36 races, and with 4 second places as the worst results. There is no need to add much more to define an “almost” perfect season for Nicolo Bulega.
We cannot say that it was perfect because those four victories eluded him, three of them in Cremona, where perhaps securing the title had more weight, and because he missed a pole and five fastest race laps. That is to say, not only in Jerez but throughout the year, Bulega has been a steamroller that has left nothing but crumbs behind.
SBK Jerez – Race 1: Bulega reaches 50 victories and Lecuona remains on the podium
During the first race of the weekend all doubts were dispelled, and it was clear that Bulega had arrived in Jerez ready to follow the same trend as the rest of the year. Although Sam Lowes started especially well and put him under pressure in the first corner, the Italian managed to maintain the lead and began to build differences from the first turns.
Behind, Lecuona initially lost ground and had to defend himself against Yari Montella, while Alex Lowes also joined in a fight that allowed the Spaniard to breathe a little more. The Ducati rider even went wide at turn 12 during the seventh lap, which Montella took advantage of to overtake him before immediately receiving Lecuona’s response at turn 13.
From there, the front positions ended up stabilizing and Bulega kept Sam Lowes under control until he crossed the finish line 1.6 seconds ahead. Lecuona secured third position.
Further back, Bautista had another outstanding performance after starting from ninth position. The man from Talavera was climbing positions until he caught up with Montella, whom he ended up overtaking in turn 5 during lap 18 to take fourth place, and who made it clear that he still has the pace to continue competing.
The victory also allowed Bulega to reach 50 in WorldSBK after only 106 races, becoming the rider who has needed the least tests to reach that number.
SBK Jerez – Superpole Race: Bulega continues to dominate
Sunday’s short race began again with Bulega defending first position against a particularly aggressive Sam Lowes during the first corners. The Italian managed to quickly open a few tenths of margin, while Lecuona began to put pressure on the Briton in search of a second position that would not take too long to achieve.
Once behind Bulega, Lecuona could no longer get close enough to challenge him for victory, while Sam Lowes could not stand up to the Spaniard either, so we can say that the podium was defined almost from the beginning. Of course, Bulega managed to extend the record to 35 podiums during the same season, surpassing the barrier of 700 points, something that no driver had previously achieved in the championship.
Bautista had work again after starting again from ninth position and managed to recover three places to finish sixth. That result allowed him to secure a place on the second row of the grid for Race 2, which would end up offering much more excitement.
SBK Jerez – Race 2: rain tightens the finish and Bautista loses the podium on the last lap
The final race of the season began with Lecuona taking the lead into the first corner as we have seen so many times this year, although Bulega only needed a few corners to give him back the pass. The Italian regained the lead in turn 6 and began to impose a pace again that little by little separated him from his teammate.
Bautista, taking advantage of sixth place on the grid, made a great start to take third in the first meters, leaving Sam Lowes behind. From there it seemed that the Talaveran had the situation under control while Bulega and Lecuona were no longer within reach.
But everything changed when it started to rain in the final laps of the race. When Bautista caressed the podium in Jerez, water gained prominence. It was then that Sam Lowes began to close the gap that Bautista had built and reached the last lap with a real chance of taking third place.
The Briton completed the comeback in Turn 5 and left Bautista without enough margin to prepare a response before the checkered flag. Bulega crossed the finish line first ahead of Lecuona and Sam Lowes, while Bautista finally had to settle for fourth position.
With this latest victory, Bulega reached 52 in WorldSBK, equaling a legend like Troy Bayliss to share fifth position as riders with the most race wins. Of course, there is a “trick” and that is that Bayliss has never competed with the current format of three races in one weekend.
In any case, a reference for those who come from behind in search of the scepter that the Italian will leave free to go to MotoGP. In addition, this weekend in Jerez also marked the end of the Pirelli era, which also goes to MotoGP and gives way to Michelin in 2027 as the sole supplier.
