Ducati in history
Phillip Island 2026: on one hand, the Australian weekend was the first round of this season, which started with the absence of the reigning world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (who moved to MotoGP) and six-time world champion Jonathan Rea, who retired from racing while taking on the role of Honda test rider. On the other hand, the weekend gave great emotions to Ducati, which celebrated its 450 Superbike victories.
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Bulega’s achievements
All this thanks to the almost flawless performances by Nicolò Bulega, who after recording the best time in Superpole stood on the top step of the podium in all three scheduled races. Repeated successes that equal his second hat-trick with Ducati, but that’s not all: with 23 total victories, the Aruba.it team rider surpassed Marco Melandri in the all-time ranking reserved for Italian riders for the highest number of Superbike wins. A memorable weekend for both the Borgo Panigale manufacturer and Bulega, who commented on his performance: “An exciting weekend. I am very happy, especially because the feeling with the bike has been fantastic since the tests at the beginning of the week. I would like to say a big thank you to my team because they managed to put me in a position to go fast even in the rain. Racing on this circuit with these feelings is something extraordinary.”
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An uphill start
More in difficulty, however, was Iker Lecuona, on his debut with Aruba.it after the move of two-time world champion Alvaro Bautista to the independent Barni team. Sixth in Race 1, the former Honda HRC rider struggled during the Superpole Race, starting from 13th place and finishing the race in ninth place after contact at the start pushed him to the back of the field. Slightly better in Race 2, but with eighth place at the finish: “To be honest, on one hand I’m a bit frustrated with how things went in Race 2. From the first laps, the feeling with the rear was not what I wanted. On the other hand, however, I am happy to have managed to recover positions and to have concluded a weekend that I consider positive, having gained a lot of experience. We are doing a great job with the team, step by step, and I can’t wait to be in Portimão”.
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