Nicolo Bulega stormed to his tenth pole of the 2026 WorldSBK season by demolishing the lap record of the Estoril circuit.
After missing out on pole position for the first time in 2026 last time out at Cremona, Bulega returned to his usual form by breaking the lap record on his first flying attempt.
The world champion then went for a second run and became the first, and only, rider to record a sub 1m34s lap time at Estoril which saw him claim pole position,
Although Iker Lecuona got close, he was unable to replicate his team-mate’s lap time as he took second ahead of Alex Lowes, who prevented a Ducati lockout by getting his Bimota on the front row.
Alberto Surra took fourth place after signing a new deal with the Motocorsa team, while Miguel Oliveira claimed fifth at his home race.
Yari Montella took sixth over an impressive seventh for Jake Dixon on the Honda, as Axel Bassani was the final rider within a second of Bulega’s pole time in eighth.
Lorenzo Baldassarri was ninth ahead of Sam Lowes, who completed the top 10, with Garrett Gerloff taking 11th and Alvaro Bautista in 12th.
Xavi Vierge was 13th, edging ahead of Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Locatelli on the grid, with Remy Gardner 16th.
Somkiat Chantra returned to WorldSBK action after his MotoGP replacement ride in 17th, while Loris Baz was 18th and Tommy Bridewell 19th.
Stefano Manzi took the flag in 20th, as the Motoxracing Yamaha riders completed the standings with Mattia Rato 20th and Twan Smits 21st.
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