Nicolo Bulega had to fight hard to take victory in the opening race of the weekend at the Czech WorldSBK Round.
Bulega was forced to work harder for victory than in recent races, as the Italian battled with teammate Iker Lecuona during Race 1 at Autodrom Most.
Despite the pressure, Bulega extended the factory Ducati squad’s winning streak to 17 consecutive WorldSBK races.
Joining Bulega on the podium were teammate Lecuona and Barni Ducati rider Yari Montella.
Bulega made the perfect launch from pole position to claim the holeshot at the initial start, as Ducati locked out the top three positions with Montella and Lecuona close behind.
However, the race was red-flagged on Lap 1 after Danilo Petrucci suffered a highside crash at Turn 13.
At the restart, Bulega once again led into Turn 1 ahead of Montella and Lecuona, while the leading trio quickly began to edge away from Alberto Surra and Sam Lowes.
Lecuona moved into second place at the beginning of Lap 4 after overtaking Montella through the opening sector.
Later on the same lap, Sam Lowes crashed out following contact with Surra during a battle for fourth position.
With the incident behind him, Lecuona steadily closed the gap to Bulega and was firmly in contention for the lead by Lap 6.
Surra was handed a Long Lap Penalty on Lap 9 for his involvement in the collision with Lowes, dropping the Italian down to 12th place after serving the penalty.
Further behind, Alex Lowes was making strong progress through the field and had climbed into eighth by Lap 12.
The fight for victory intensified on Lap 13 as Bulega made several small mistakes, allowing Lecuona to apply heavy pressure to the championship leader.
Lecuona made his move at the start of Lap 14, sweeping past Bulega into Turn 1 to take the lead of Race 1.
Bulega responded four laps later, reclaiming the lead into Turn 1 at the start of Lap 18 after rediscovering his rhythm.
Once back in front, the Ducati rider controlled the closing stages to secure his 13th victory of the 2026 season.
Lecuona finished second for the 10th consecutive race, while Montella secured back-to-back podium finishes in third place.
Garrett Gerloff matched his best result of the season with fourth place for Kawasaki, while Axel Bassani completed the top five for Bimota.
Lorenzo Baldassarri finished sixth for GoEleven Ducati, with Alex Lowes recovering strongly to claim seventh place.
Andrea Locatelli was the leading Yamaha rider in eighth, while Surra recovered from his Long Lap Penalty to finish ninth.
WorldSBK rookie Stefano Manzi completed the top ten ahead of Tarran Mackenzie in 11th.
Xavi Vierge added more championship points with 12th place, while Tommy Bridewell finished 13th.
Michael van der Mark and Remy Gardner completed the points-paying positions in 14th and 15th, respectively.
The final classified finishers outside the points were Bahattin Sofuoglu, Somkiat Chantra, and Mattia Rato.
Discussion about this post