Nicolo Bulega closed out the WorldSBK chapter of his career by completing a hat trick of victories with his win in Race 2 at Jerez.
In his final race before he joins MotoGP for 2027, Bulega ended on a high by claiming his 32nd win of the season, and drew level in the all-time list with WorldSBK legend Troy Bayliss.
Iker Lecuona took the lead over team-mate Bulega into the first corner after a strong start from second on the grid, while Bautista made a storming start from fifth to third.
Bulega responded immediately to Lecuona’s challenge, retaking the lead at Turn 4 as the two looked to build their usual gap to the riders behind.
After the initial first lap changes, the field remained stagnant as the factory Ducati riders chipped away at the lap time to build a gap of more than three seconds to third-placed Bautista.
Five laps before the end, the white flag came out to warn of the rain coming around the circuit, with riders allowed to swap bikes four laps from the end given the conditions.
It made no difference to the factory Ducati riders, as Bulega cruised to the line to claim victory by 4.696s in an emotional end to his time in the WorldSBK championship.
Lecuona also clinched second place by nearly 10 seconds to seal an Aruba 1-2 in a historic campaign for the Italian team.
However, the change in conditions only saw pressure piled on Bautista, with Sam Lowes closing at a rapid rate in the late stages for the final spot on the podium.
Lowes struck on the final lap at Turn 2 to take third place and although Bautista tried his hardest, he was unable to get back on terms with the British rider who stole the spot on the podium.
Further behind, Alex Lowes had to fight to fend off Yari Montella for fifth place after losing out in their battle for third place in the championship. Although the Bimota rider held strong for nine laps, the power of Montella’s Ducati eventually got the better of him as he got past going into the final corner.
Lorenzo Baldassarri also passed Lowes in the late stages after some strong pace in the mixed conditions, with the Bimota rider taking seventh ahead of team-mate Axel Bassani in eighth.
Alberto Surra was ninth and Miguel Oliveira completed the top 10. A difficult start for Tommy Bridewell saw him take 11th at the chequered flag, while Xavi Vierge was 12th on his Yamaha farewell.
Garrett Gerloff was 13th and finished ahead of the Honda pairing, with Somkiat Chantra in 14th and Jake Dixon in 15th picking up the final points of the season.
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