Nicolo Bulega equals record WorldSBK win tally with Assen Race 2 victory
Nicolo Bulega has swept another World Superbike weekend in 2026
Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega dominated Race 2 at the Assen World Superbike round to secure a record-equalling 13 successive victories.
The runaway championship leader has been in imperious form all season on the factory Ducati, winning every race run so far.
That follows four victories at the end of last year, bringing his current tally to 13, which matches the record held by triple world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Nicolo Bulega had to fight harder for this win in Race 2, following his romp to the win in the 10-lap superpole race earlier on Sunday.
He grabbed the holeshot from pole at Turn 1, but was passed first by Sam Lowes on the Marc VDS Ducati, and then the sister factory Ducati of Iker Lecuona.
Lowes led across the line to start lap two and resisted an attack from Lecuona into Turn 7, after the Spaniard ran wide into the corner.
Lecuona made a move stick on Lowes into Turn 1 at the start of lap three, with Bulega dipping underneath the Briton at Turn 4.
Bulega seized the lead from Lecuona at the end of the third lap, which would ultimately mark the end of the battle for victory.
The Italian began to stretch his advantage, getting it up to over a second at the start of lap nine and would ultimately swell this to 2.7s at the chequered flag.
Bulega has now extended his championship lead to 69 points after the opening three rounds of the 2026 campaign.
He headed another all-Ducati podium, with Lecuona second ahead of Lowes, who completed a clean sweep of rostrum finishes at Assen.
Alvaro Bautista was fourth on the Barni Racing Ducati, with his team-mate Yari Montella just under a second adrift in fifth.
Lorenzo Baldassarri made it an all-Ducati top six, with Xavi Vierge the first non-Panigale rider in seventh on the Yamaha.
He headed Yamaha stablemate Andrea Locatelli, while BMW’s Danilo Petrucci was ninth ahead of another Ducati of Tarran Mackenzie.
Alex Lowes faded to 11th on the Bimota, having seemingly suffered with his tyres as the race drew on, with Miguel Oliveira 12th for BMW.
Jonathan Rea was 19th on the Honda.
All 22 starters made it to the chequered flag.
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