WorldSBK: The Portuguese fans came out in force at Portimao and were rewarded with a podium for the home hero Miguel Oliveira.
The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team rider claimed his first career WorldSBK podium behind the Aruba.it Ducati duo of Nicolo Bulega and Iker Lecuona.
Race 1 Highlights
Starting from pole position Bulega delivered a fourth victory of the season to continue his perfect start to 2026. The Italian rider led every lap and set the fastest lap of the lap in a perfect performance to start his race weekend.
Lecuona’s first podium for Ducati was a strong and consistent ride. He inherited second position from Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) who crashed in the early stages from second position.
Oliveira started from the second row of the grid but spent almost the entire 20 lap race inside the podium positions. It was a very strong performance from the rookie as he opened a comfortable margin to the chasing pack.
A race long battle for sixth position was settled on the final lap with Xavi Vierge claiming his first points of the season for Pata Maxus Yamaha ahead of the impressive Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team).
Having qualified on the second row of the grid Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) was the leading Independent Rider in fifth position.
P1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati):
“It’s been a good weekend so far. I struggled a bit yesterday to find the right feeling with the bike so this morning we went back to my standard setup and it was much better. It’s still not 100% how I want it and In the race I was still fighting a little in some areas, especially under braking and turning, but we did a good job. This is a good moment for me but no one is unbeatable. I’ve a great feeling with the bike, with the team and with everything around me. The key now is to continue like this and keep improving. If you relax even for one second you’re no longer fast.”
P2 – Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati):
“I’m very happy. I said many times during the winter that we have the team and the package to fight for victories. Today I was on the limit for the whole race because Miguel was pushing hard too so I had to stay fully focused and avoid mistakes. I’m happy because I didn’t make any mistakes and I had a good start. This was a perfect result for the team and we also had P1 and P2 in Superpole. It’s very special to have a day like this so let’s see if we can keep it going tomorrow.”
P3 – Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team):
“This was a good Saturday. I managed to found speed compared to yesterday. The race was tough and I didn’t have quite enough to fight the Ducati’s but I gave my best and I learned a few things. I learned a lot about tyre degradation. I’m happy to be on the podium in front of my home crowd. The only thing better would be a win but that wasn’t very realistic today. We still have two more opportunities tomorrow and I’m looking forward to that.”
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Race 1 Results
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.522s
3. Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 4.815s
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +9.152s
5. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +12.147s
6. Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +18.016s
Fastest lap: Nicolo Bulega, Ducati – 1’39.962s
Superpole Highlights
Having claimed Superpole success in Phillip Island Bulega maintained his qualifying form to start the 2026 campaign to claim his eleventh career pole position.
Lecuona was the first rider to break the lap record during the session and was ultimately rewarded with his first pole position since the Catalan Round in 2022.
Yari Montella completed an all-Ducati front row of the grid with a late lap. He knocked the home hero Oliveira from the front row but the Portuguese rider enjoyed a strong session to qualify fourth fastest.
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’38.495s
2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.142s
3. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.438s
For more info checkout our dedicated WorldSBK (World Superbike) News page superbike-news.co.uk/category/world-superbikes/
Or visit the official World Superbike website worldsbk.com
©Words/Images are from official press release posted courtesy of WorldSBK.com
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