A dominant performance from Iker Lecuona saw the Spaniard deny teammate Nicolo Bulega a championship-clinching victory in Race 1 at Cremona in Round 10 of WorldSBK, leading home an Aruba.it 1-2 as Sam Lowes inherited the final step of the podium.
Lecuona blew the competition away over 23 laps at the Italian Round, leaving Bulega over five seconds behind at the line. While the result seals an emphatic victory for Lecuona, it crucially keeps the 2026 WorldSBK title fight alive, delaying Bulega’s mathematical coronation until Sunday’s action.
Championship wait continued as Lecuona charges away
Bulega entered Saturday’s opening encounter with a chance to wrap up the WorldSBK crown on home soil, but his hopes of securing the title early were put on hold from the opening meters. Launching brilliantly from the front row, Lecuona remained in control into Turn 1, while Yari Montella lunged up the inside, forcing both Bulega and local star Alberto Surra wide into third and fourth. Montella’s high-risk manoeuvre backfired moments later when he slid out at Turn 13 on the opening tour.
With a clear track ahead, Lecuona relentlessly set the pace, extending his advantage to over a second by Lap 3. Bulega attempted to match his teammate’s rhythm to keep his championship celebration plans intact, but Lecuona laid down the gauntlet on Lap 5 with a race-fastest 1:28.077 lap time, stretching his lead to 1.5 seconds.
Behind the Ducati pair, Surra’s fairy-tale bid for a home podium ended abruptly on Lap 9 with a crash at Turn 7, promoting Sam Lowes into third position.
Even a massive moment on Lap 10 couldn’t derail Lecuona. Pushing his Panigale V4 R to the absolute limits, the Spaniard gathered the machine back up without losing momentum and continued to pull clear, crossing the finish line 5.591 seconds ahead of Bulega to record his second victory of the 2026 campaign. The margin marked Bulega’s heaviest defeat in a dry race since Magny-Cours 2025, ensuring the title celebration will have to wait at least until Sunday’s Superpole Race.
Lowes held off late pressure from Lorenzo Baldassarri to secure third and earn his 14th career WorldSBK podium.
Behind Baldassarri in fourth, Garrett Gerloff produced a strong ride to secure fifth place, holding off Alex Lowes to claim his best result since Most.
Andrea Locatelli spearheaded a close-following train to take seventh ahead of Axel Bassani. Meanwhile, Jake Dixon mounted an outstanding drive from 18th on the grid to finish ninth, fending off double World Champion Alvaro Bautista by a mere 0.108 seconds.
Yamaha duo Stefano Manzi and Remy Gardner spent the full 23-lap distance nose-to-tail to finish 11th and 12th respectively. Somkiat Chantra finished 13th for Honda, while Danilo Petrucci and Loris Baz (MGM Optical Express Racing) gathered the final points in 14th and 15th.
The opener proved costly for several big names: Thomas Bridewell suffered a technical failure on Lap 8, Montella retired after falling a second time at Turn 10, Miguel Oliveira crashed out of top-10 contention at Turn 10 on Lap 12, and Xavi Vierge crashed at Turn 5 on Lap 17.
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