Nicolo Bulega has secured the 2026 WorldSBK championship with six races still to run. It is the first time since 2022 that the title has been decided before the final round, but the scale of his season is better measured by the results behind the early confirmation.

Bulega has stood on the podium in all 30 races held so far and has won 26 of them. Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali called the campaign “very special” and said the company felt proud not only of the championship itself, but of the way it was achieved. Ducati had expected its new Panigale to bring improved performance; Domenicali said the motorcycle’s actual level had proved particularly strong.

From a difficult Moto2 spell to MotoGP

Domenicali also pointed to the longer path behind Bulega’s breakthrough. After a difficult period in Moto2, the rider joined Aruba’s then-new Supersport project, where the team and Ducati helped him restart his career. He subsequently won both the Supersport and Superbike championships with Ducati, an achievement Domenicali described as a first and a remarkable accomplishment.

Next season, Bulega will move to MotoGP with VR46. That will make him the second WorldSBK champion in two seasons to enter the Grand Prix paddock, following Toprak Razgatlioglu. Bulega has already tested Ducati’s 2027 motorcycle during 2026, ahead of MotoGP’s new era with 850cc engines and Pirelli tyres. The WorldSBK title therefore closes one major phase of his career just as another begins.