Nicolo Bulega has been crowned the 2026 Superbike World Champion after the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider secured the title with two rounds remaining, completing a landmark season for Ducati and its new Panigale V4 R.
Bulega clinched the Riders’ Championship with a second-place finish in Race 2 at the Cremona Circuit. The title marks his first WorldSBK crown and makes him the first Italian rider to win the Superbike World Championship with Ducati.
Record season for Bulega
Bulega has dominated the 2026 WorldSBK season, taking 26 victories from 30 races before the final two rounds. His four second-place finishes have all come behind teammate Iker Lecuona, producing four Ducati one-two finishes.
The Italian has also secured nine consecutive pole positions and set an outright lap record at every circuit contested through the Cremona round.
The title is Bulega’s second World Championship with Ducati after his 2023 Supersport crown. He is now the first rider to win World Championships in both categories with the manufacturer.
Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali said Bulega’s achievement was particularly significant as it came in Ducati’s centenary year and in front of his home crowd. He also highlighted the development of Bulega from his Supersport success to becoming a WorldSBK champion and credited Ducati, Ducati Corse and Aruba.it Racing for the result.
Panigale V4 R remains unbeaten
The 2026 championship has also marked the competitive debut of the latest Panigale V4 R, which has won all 30 races contested so far this season.
The result has secured Ducati’s fifth consecutive Manufacturers’ Championship and its 22nd manufacturers’ title in WorldSBK.
The latest Panigale V4 R incorporates technologies developed through Ducati’s racing programme, including MotoGP-derived Corner Sidepods and the Ducati Racing Gearbox. The motorcycle is the latest generation of Ducati’s production-based superbike lineage that has competed in WorldSBK since 2001.
Ducati’s success at Cremona also strengthens its record in WorldSBK. The manufacturer, which has competed in the championship since its inaugural 1988 season, now has 17 Riders’ Titles, 22 Manufacturers’ Titles, 479 victories and 1,266 podiums.
All-Italian success
The Bulega-Panigale V4 R combination has delivered an all-Italian championship success, bringing together an Emilia-Romagna rider, Ducati’s Borgo Panigale engineering operation and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Team.
The achievement also adds another milestone to Ducati’s centenary celebrations, while demonstrating the manufacturer’s continued transfer of racing technology to its road-going motorcycles.