Nicolo Bulega declares WorldSBK “in a good era” as he equals Razgatlioglu record

Nicolo Bulega says WorldSBK is “in a good era” after he took victory in the Race 2 at the Dutch Round.

Bulega’s Race 2 win at Assen was his ninth from nine races in 2026. The last rider to win the opening nine races of a World Superbike season was Alvaro Bautista in 2019. Bautista, of course, ended up finishing second to Jonathan Rea in that year’s championship battle.

Having won the final four races of 2025, Bulega’s win streak is stretched to 13 races now. It’s a tally that draws him level with Toprak Razgatlioglu, who set the record for the number of consecutive wins with his 13 in a row in 2024, and then matched that in 2025.

Not only is Bulega strong in the races, but he’s also proven unbeatable in qualifying this year, taking all three pole positions. Ducati, incidentally, has locked out all three front rows and in Assen became the first manufacturer to secure all nine podium positions in a single round since the Superpole Race was introduced in 2019.

It was put to Bulega after the race by WorldSBK.com that the series is now in Bulega’s ‘era’. Unsurprisingly the Italian didn’t object to this assessment.

“I’m in a good situation, I have a good mentality now, I know I can be fast in any conditions,” Nicolo Bulega told WorldSBK.com.

“When you win 13 in a row, it gives you a lot of motivation for the races to come; it’s been good for my head. 

“The ‘era of Bulega’ sounds good. I think we’re in a good era right now. 

“I can ride my bike well because my team is listening to my feedback, which is allowing us to improve session by session. This is the result of hard work from me, and from Ducati.”

Thinking about Race 2 in particular, Bulega emphasised that a measured mentality after a start that saw him drop from pole to third was key to making the victory happen.

“I didn’t make a perfect start, Sam [Lowes] and Iker [Lecuona] overtook me in the first laps,” Nicolo Bulega said of Race 2.

“I just stayed calm and studied where I could overtake them. 

“From there, it was a fantastic race. I made some good overtakes and didn’t make any mistakes. 

“We improved the feeling from yesterday and had a good race pace, so I’m happy for that.”

Bulega now carries a 69-point championship lead over his Aruba.it Racing Ducati teammate Iker Lecuona ahead of round four at Balaton Park on 2–4 May.