Nicolo Bulega secured his first WorldSBK title with two rounds, or six races, still to run. BMW Motorrad Motorsport has acknowledged the Italian rider’s and Ducati’s superiority, while setting its sights on a much closer championship next season.

BMW Motorrad Motorsport chief Sven Blusch described Bulega as a worthy champion and said BMW would do everything it could to make the series exciting again. The result follows two successive titles for BMW and Toprak Razgatlioglu against Bulega and Ducati. Razgatlioglu won the 2025 crown by 13 points, while he and Bulega took every race that season except one.

The balance shifted after Razgatlioglu moved to MotoGP. Before the Cremona round, Bulega had won 26 of the first 27 races. Iker Lecuona was the only rider to interrupt that run, then swept all three races at Cremona. Bulega finished second in each of them, results that were enough to put his first WorldSBK championship beyond reach.

BMW’s next line-up

Bulega will follow Razgatlioglu into MotoGP next season. BMW, meanwhile, will field new signing Brad Binder alongside Miguel Oliveira as the Michelin era begins. Oliveira is 12th in his rookie WorldSBK campaign after missing seven races through injury. Danilo Petrucci is 14th, having also been absent for several rounds because of injury. That gives BMW a new pairing and a clear challenge: turn Blusch’s promise into a stronger response on track.