2026 Assen WorldSBK: Bulega pole despite Superpole crash, Lowes second
WorldSBK title leader Nicolo Bulega takes pole position, then crashes, during Superpole at Assen.
Nicolo Bulega kept his stranglehold on the 2026 WorldSBK season by making it three poles out of three during qualifying at Assen on Saturday morning.
Bulega also set a new lap record of 1m 32.144s, but it wasn’t a perfect session for the Aruba.it Ducati rider.
The Italian, winner of all six races so far, had to walk to parc ferme after a late crash from his Panigale at Turn 1.
However, the mistake went unpunished, with Bulega’s nearest rival Sam Lowes, on pole at last year’s event for Marc VDS, left 0.3s behind.
Bulega’s team-mate Iker Lecuona, quickest in FP3, completed the front row in third, having held pole earlier in the 15-minute session.
An all-Ducati front row will be followed by three manufacturers on row two, courtesy of BMW’s Danilo Petrucci, Yamaha’s Xavi Vierge and Bimota’s Alex Lowes.
Alvaro Bautista, Andrea Locatelli, Lorenzo Baldassarri and Remy Gardner completed the top ten, with former BSB champion Tommy Bridewell in eleventh.
Portimao podium finisher Miguel Oliveira will need to fight from 13th on the grid.
Somkiat Chantra was declared unfit for the remainder of Saturday after a final practice accident. The HRC rider’s condition will be reviewed ahead of warm-up.
Stand-in team-mate Jonathan Rea will thus be the only HRC rider on the Race 1 grid, where he will line-up in 18th.
Race 1 starts at 15:30 local time (14:30 UK).
Full Superpole qualifying results from 2026 Dutch WorldSBK round at Assen.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
