Bulega sets a new record with an SCX hat-trick

· Another hat-trick for Bulega. Two weeks after securing the Superbike World Championship title at Cremona, Nicolò Bulega (Ducati) added another milestone to his remarkable 2026 season. By winning all three races at the Estoril Round, the penultimate round of the FIM Superbike World Championship, the Italian rider raised his season tally to 29 victories, surpassing the previous record of 27 set by fellow Ducati rider Álvaro Bautista in 2023. After winning the morning’s Superpole Race, Bulega converted pole position into another victory in Race 2, finishing ahead of teammate Iker Lecuona and fellow Ducati rider Alberto Surra to complete his ninth hat-trick of the season. All three podium finishers, like the rest of the field, opted for the standard-range soft SC1 front tyre and supersoft SCX rear tyre. The race was run in an asphalt temperature of 35°C, 5°C cooler than Saturday’s Race 1, with an air temperature of 21°C. The 21-lap race was completed in 33’28.170, almost 12 seconds faster than in 2025. This represents an average improvement of more than half a second per lap.

· SCX also for the Superpole Race. Starting from pole position, Nicolò Bulega won the short race that opened Sunday’s action just a few hours earlier. On the second lap, he capitalised on a mistake by Iker Lecuona at Turn 1 to take the lead. For the newly crowned World Champion, this was his tenth win in the 11 Superpole Races held so far this season. Lecuona and Alberto Surra joined him on the podium, with Surra overtaking home favourite Miguel Oliveira (BMW) on the final lap. All riders on the grid chose the soft SC1 front and supersoft SCX rear tyre combination. On lap four, Bulega also set a new race lap record of 1’34.525, shaving four tenths of a second off the previous mark, set in Race 1 the day before. The ten-lap race was completed in 15’52.751, 4.6 seconds faster than in 2025, equating to an average improvement of 0.45 seconds per lap.

· Alcoba wins in WorldSSP. Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki) claimed victory in WorldSSP Race 2, which was shortened to six laps following a red-flag interruption. He finished ahead of Filippo Farioli (Yamaha) and Valentin Debise (ZXMOTO). It was an unfortunate day for newly crowned World Champion Albert Arenas, who was forced to retire due to technical problems shortly after the initial start. As on Saturday, all riders started on the soft SC1 front and supersoft SCX rear tyre combination, with the exception of Borja Jimenez (Ducati) and Eric Fernandez (Yamaha), who switched to the soft SC0 rear for the restart.

· Takahira wins the Yamaha R3 World Cup title. Japan’s Riichi Takahira has been crowned Yamaha R3 World Cup champion as the season concluded in Portugal. The category uses Pirelli DIABLO™ Superbike tyres in SC1 compound. The title was decided when Dominican rider Xarli Mendez, who had been just four points behind Takahira before the final race, crashed on lap two. Race 2 was won by American rider Christopher Clark, while Takahira kept his cool to finish seventh.

 SCX at the heart of Estoril’s records
 
“As has often been the case in the past, the Estoril Round was characterised by changeable weather conditions. Falling temperatures and variable wind speeds required teams to work continuously on their set-ups to find the best possible grip on an asphalt surface that traditionally offers limited grip. Despite these challenges, Superbike riders’ performances improved session after session, resulting in new lap records, a new race lap record and faster overall race times.
Our decision to make our softer production-range solutions available therefore proved to be the right one. The SCQ extrasoft enabled Bulega to set a new outright lap record at the Estoril Circuit, while the SCX supersoft, chosen by every rider in all three races over the weekend, proved highly competitive in all conditions.
Congratulations to Bulega, whose hat-trick this weekend set a new record for the most victories in a single season, and to Riichi Takahira, who clinched the Yamaha R3 World Cup title after a championship battle that remained open until the final race. Recognition is also due to Yamaha, which has invested in this category for many years. The series represents an important step in the development and competitive training of young riders aspiring to become professionals.
Next weekend, we head to Jerez de la Frontera for the final round of the FIM Superbike World Championship season, with two world titles still to be decided: the Women’s World Championship and the Sportbike World Championship”.