A weekend attendance of 57,494 at the TT Circuit Assen watched on as Nicolo Bulega continued his dominant start to the 2026 WorldSBK season. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider led home three one-two finishes for his team this weekend while, for the first time in WorldSBK history, a manufacturer locked out the podium in all three races of a round.
Race 2 Highlights
Starting from the outside of the front row Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) led the opening laps of the race. A fast start saw him outdrag Lecuona to Turn 1 before passing Bulega at the next turn. Lowes would lead the first two laps before Bulega and Lecuona came past and from that point onwards they stayed in the same positions with five seconds separating the podium finishers at the flag.
Bulega’s pace and consistency was impressive throughout as he opened a margin of two seconds at half race distance. From that point onwards it was about controlling the race and the gap to his teammate.
Ducati’s dominance was continued throughout the top six positions with the Barni Spark Racing Team duo of Alvaro Bautista and Yari Montella battling throughout the 21 lap distance. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team Goeleven) started on the fourth row of the grid and finished in sixth position.
- The Pata Maxus Yamaha teammates Xavi Vierge and Andrea Locatelli finished the weekend with seventh and eighth place finishes. They battled with Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) for much of the race while Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) faded in the second half of the race having ran inside the top seven positions for the first half of the race.
Bulega extends his title lead to 69 points over Lecuona following his third consecutive maximum haul of 62 points over a single race weekend.
Sam Lowes moves into third position in the standings and continues to lead the Independent Rider standings.
Ducati’s perfect record of nine wins from nine races means they now hold a 91 lead in the Manufacturers Standings from bimota.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati):
“I didn’t make the perfect start and Sam and Iker overtook me on the first lap. After that I stayed calm and studied where I could pass them. It was a fantastic race and I made some good overtakes. I didn’t make any big mistakes and my race pace was very strong, so we improved the feeling from yesterday and I’m happy about that. I’m in a good place mentally. I know I can be fast in all conditions, and that’s very important. Winning 13 races in a row gives you a lot of confidence and motivation for the next races.”
P2 – Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati):
“I’m really happy. We did a strong job throughout the weekend. At times I struggled, other times I felt more comfortable. After the Superpole Race we decided to try something new with the bike, which we hadn’t tested before, and in the end it worked well. I had two big moments at Turn 12 where I almost crashed, losing a bit of time, but overall I’m satisfied. Nicolo is still a bit faster, but I know this is one of his best tracks. Let’s see if we can fight for first position in the next races.”
P3 – Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team):
“I think Nicolo had a bit of an advantage, and Iker slightly less, but I’m happy to be fighting close to them. At the moment they are the reference, both rider and team, so it’s positive for us to be in that group. This track suits us well and the Ducatis were strong all weekend, but I was able to stay close and battle with them, and also to qualify ahead of one of them. I tried to be smart and consistent, especially after two good races, to finish the weekend in a strong way. It’s been a very positive Sunday and I’m proud of the job we’ve done.”
Race 2 Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +2.724s
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +5.257s
4. Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) + 8.941s
5. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +9.845s
6. Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) +12.872s
Championship Standings
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 186 points
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 117
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) 82
4. Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 69
5. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 69
6. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 67
Superpole Race Highlights
- Nicolo Bulega led an Aruba.it Racing – Ducati one-two by leading every lap from pole position and delivering the victory for the Italian squad ahead of Iker Lecuona. On the opening lap Lecuona eased his way past Sam Lowes and the Ducati trio went on to claim the podium positions.
Starting from the fourth row Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) made progress throughout the field. He was sixth at the end of the opening lap, then moved past Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) on Lap 2 before attacking Alex Lowes in the closing stages. The duo spent much of the race in close proximity with Bautista easing his way through at Turn 1 on Lap 8.
- Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) showed good race craft on the final lap to nab the final points paying position. Having received a penalty to drop one position he was able to leave himself enough time to attack Remy Gardner at the Chicane and finish in ninth position.
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) +1.742s
3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +2.632s
Maiden race victory for Oettl
A rain shower as riders made their way to the grid guaranteed tricky conditions in the early stages for the Supersport field. Starting from tenth on the grid Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) was brave on the run to Turn 1 to jump into second position. He quickly took the lead and would lead seven laps before finishing in third position.
Phillip Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) took the lead on Lap 10. The German, making his 66th start, finally claimed his first race victory in the class. The red flag flew on Lap 12 after a Turn 5 crash involving Roberto Garcia and Jack Kennedy. The result was declared with Oettl ahead of Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) as two-thirds had been completed.
Masia holds a single point advantage from Arenas in the championship standings while Oettl moves into third position following his victory.
- In the Manufacturers Standings there are 21 points between Ducati and Yamaha.
- Championship leader Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing Verdnatura) started to make progress in the closing stages before the race was halted. The Spaniard, race winner yesterday, dropped to ninth at one point but would eventually finish in sixth position having overtaken Valentin Debise shortly before the red flag.
P1 – Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team):
“This win feels great. I had a difficult race yesterday because of a long lap penalty and some issues with the tyre. Today we made a different choice and it worked well. I tried to be smart and pushed when I was in front and then I tried to manage the race. The red flag came at a good moment for me but I felt I had the pace to pull away and that I was in control if the race had continued. The bike was very fast and I felt comfortable. I’m really happy to finish the weekend in a positive way, and I’m looking forward to the next round to keep building on this.”
Race 2 Results
1. Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team)
2. Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) +0.261s
3. Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +1.185s
4. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +1.537s
5. Alessandro Zaccone (Egosantagata Althea Racing Team) +1.543s
6. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) +1.960s
Championship Standings
1. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) 106 points
2. Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) 105
3. Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) 79
4. Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Evan Bros Factory) 72
5. Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) 54
6. Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) 52
Fleerackers comes out on top of last lap scrap
The battle for Race 2 honours was settled in Ferre Fleerackers (Track & Trades Wixx Racing) favour on the run to the line at TT Circuit Assen. The Belgian rider was third midway through the final lap but attacked and moved past his rivals at Turn 14 before holding his nerve to claim his first Sportbike victory.
Jeffrey Buis (Track & Trades Wixx Racing), race winner yesterday, had to settle for third position in front of his home crowd. The Dutchman started from the second row but quickly settled into the role of race leader on Lap 1. The group diced throughout and Buis led on the final lap before being displaced by Fleerackers and Matteo Vannucci (Revo-M2) who gave Aprilia their first podium in the class.
David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) leaves Round 1 as the championship leader by five points from Buis. The Spanish rider finished Race 2 in fourth position. Fleerackers has moved into the top three in the standings following his victory.
Kawasaki leads the manufacturer standings by seven points from Suzuki. The manufacturers have shared the spoils with two race victories apiece this season. Kove scored their first points in the Sportbike class this weekend.
P1 – Ferre Fleerackers (Track & Trades Wixx Racing):
“I made a really strong start from pole position and stayed at the front early on. When Jeffrey passed me a few riders followed him so I focused on getting back to the front as quickly as possible. I learned from yesterday that it’s not ideal to be leading in the final corners, so I tried to position myself as best as possible for the last lap. It worked perfectly in the end and it’s amazing to take my first win in only the second round of the Championship. It’s also special because this is the closest race to home for me and I have a lot of friends and family here. To be on the podium together with Jeffrey here in Assen is something really special.”
Race 2 Results
1. Ferre Fleerackers (Track&Trades Wixx Racing)
2. Matteo Vannucci (Revo-M2) +0.097s
3. Jeffrey Buis (Track&Trades Wixx Racing) +0.210s
4. David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) +0.398s
5. Kas Beekmans (VLR Racing Team Suzuki) +0.555s
6. Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki) +1.078s
Championship Standings
1. David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) 69 points
2. Jeffrey Buis (Track&Trades Wixx Racing) 64
3. Ferre Fleerackers (Track&Trades Wixx Racing) 59
4. Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki) 54
5. Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) 53
6. Matteo Vannucci (Revo-M2) 41