2026 Assen WorldSBK: Bulega, Lecuona battle as rain shakes up Race 1

Nicolo Bulega beat team-mate Iker Lecuona - and the Dutch weather - to extend his perfect start to the 2026 WorldSBK season on Saturday at Assen.

Again starting from pole position, Bulega looked to have his seventh victory in the bag as he began to edge away from Lecuona after the midway stage.

But a rain shower then played into Lecuona’s hands, the Spaniard seizing the moment to catch and then attack Bulega, retaking the lead.

Bulega responded as the weather improved, the red machines exchanging the lead before the title leader broke clear in the final laps.

Marc VDS’ Sam Lowes, who qualified between the Aruba riders on the front row, and Barni Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista were also brave in the rain.

Lowes caught the Aruba duo heading into the closing laps on his way to a first podium of the season. 

Lowes took the chequered flag three seconds from Bulega, with Bautista the same margin behind the Brit in fourth.

Bimota’s Alex Lowes was the leading non-Ducati in fifth, with Yamaha’s Andrea Locatelli at the head of a large group of riders in sixth.

That pack included the leading BMW of Miguel Oliveira, whose team-mate Danilo Petrucci jumped the start from fourth on the grid and was handed a costly double long lap penalty.

Petrucci was holding sixth when he dived into the penalty loop - but carried too much speed, sending him wide and into the gravel trap.

MGM’s Tarran Mackenzie joined Oliveira in fighting through the field, but narrowly lost out to fellow Ducati rider Lorenzo Baldassarri for eighth.

Full results from Race 1 at the 2026 Dutch World Superbike round at Assen.