RECORD STREAK Bulega makes it eight poles in a row as he matches Rea’s record, Alex Lowes claims first front row of 2026

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) etched his name into the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship as he matched the all-time streak of pole positions. The #11 fended off teammate Iker Lecuona during the Tissot Superpole session by 0.227s as he claimed pole on home soil at the Misano World Circuit “Marco Simoncelli”, with Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) completing the front row at Bimota’s home Pirelli Emilia-Romagna Round.

THE FIRST RUN

Bulega set the pace on the first runs with a 1’31.784s, close to the existing lap record, taking provisional pole position ahead of teammate Lecuona, with 0.126s between the pair. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) rounded out the top three, with the first stints interrupted by two crashes which brought out the yellow flags. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) did not set a lap time after he crashed on the exit of Turn 14. The #31 was able to walk away from the spill, but the damage to the bike meant he did not set a time and will therefore start last for both Race 1 and the Tissot Superpole Race, while Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) crashed at Turn 13 but had set a 1’32.627s on his lap.