Not even the rain stops Bulega
Dominant in the dry and the wet: regardless of the track conditions at Phillip Island, there were no rivals for Nicolò Bulega in the Australian weekend, which the 26-year-old from the Aruba.it team will hardly forget. Ahead of everyone in Superpole, the Emilian rider climbed to the top step of the podium in Race 1, in the Superpole Race, and in the final Race 2, affected by rain, strong wind, and poor visibility. All this did not stop the #11, in a historic victory for him and for the Italian colors: after equaling Marco Melandri’s number of Superbike successes in the Superpole Race, with 23 total victories Bulega is as of today the Italian with the most wins ever. A podium celebration shared once again with Axel Bassani, 2nd again just like in the Superpole Race, albeit with the bitterness of an Italian hat-trick that vanished due to Yari Montella’s crash. An episode that opened the doors for Bulega’s former teammate, Alvaro Bautista, to his first top-3 with the independent Barni team.
Read more Drivers’ and Constructors’ Standings after the Phillip Island Round 2026
Race report
The weather conditions significantly worsened on the eve of Race 2, both due to the intensifying wind and, above all, the increase in rain. As a result, the race took place on a wet track, with Bulega maintaining the race lead this time from the start until the checkered flag, unlike what happened in the Superpole Race. From the very first laps, the Ducati rider built a gap over his pursuers, with Sam Lowes overtaken by Montella and Bassani after initially gaining 2nd place. Excellent start for Locatelli, in a race that ended early for rookie Mattia Rato, who crashed between turns 5-6. The race was also compromised for Baldassarri, sanctioned with a double long lap penalty for a jump start. During the third lap, Sam Lowes regained third position from Bassani, only to then crash at turn 4, thus handing the podium spot to the Bimota rider ahead of an excellent Bautista, fourth after completing an overtake on MacKenzie. A weekend to forget for Vierge, once again the protagonist of a crash, but speaking of the latter, the real twist occurred seven laps from the end, with Montella’s high side at turn 9 allowing Bassani and Bautista to move up to second and third position respectively. A double zero, furthermore, for the Lowes brothers, with Alex crashing four laps from the checkered flag at turn 1. Finally, a good performance from Petrucci, who after several attempts to complete an attack on Lecuona managed to get the better of the Spaniard on the penultimate lap, finishing 5th ahead of Oliveira, once again the protagonist of another great comeback.
Read more Madring revs up for F1: works finished by May, first race in August
Phillip Island 2026, Race 2: order of arrival
Next event
To see Superbike return to the track, which from the second Round onwards will only hold races in Europe, we will have to wait just over a month: the championship will stop at another circuit that hosted pre-season testing, Portimão, with the fight for victory taking place in Portugal from March 27 to 29.
Read more Madring revs up for F1: works finished by May, first race in August
