Iker Lecuona opened the 2026 Cremona WorldSBK round with the fastest lap in FP1, setting a 1m28.278s benchmark in dry conditions. The Honda rider’s time was also quicker than the best Race 2 lap recorded at the circuit in 2025, which was 1m28.576s. Nicolo Bulega ended the session second, 0.119 seconds behind his team-mate, while Lorenzo Baldassarri completed the top three. The result gives Lecuona the first reference point of the weekend, but the championship picture remains firmly in Bulega’s hands.

The Ducati presence was particularly strong at the front. Sam Lowes, Yari Montella and Alberto Surra joined Baldassarri and Bulega to make the first six an all-Ducati group. Alex Lowes was the best rider from another manufacturer in seventh, almost 0.7 seconds away from Lecuona. Garrett Gerloff, Alvaro Bautista and Axel Bassani completed the top 10. The morning began with air at 19°C and the track at 20°C, with the circuit dry but hazy.

The pace improved into the 1m28s during the session, although Lecuona’s final benchmark stayed outside Cremona’s principal lap records. Pole position stands at 1m27.866s and the race record at 1m27.980s. The comparison with last year’s Race 2 pace is more favourable to the FP1 leader, but Friday practice remains an early indication rather than a prediction of race performance over distance.

A late fall for the championship leader

Bulega crashed at Turn 10 on his final timed lap. He nevertheless retained second place, having already built a strong enough lap-time position before the incident. Earlier in the session, he had moved within half a tenth of Lecuona with a 1m28.419s lap and had also circulated consistently in the middle of the 1m28s range. His final result therefore softened the effect of the fall: the championship leader lost track time at the end, but not his place immediately behind Lecuona.

Montella had a more difficult FP1. He crashed at the final corner, climbed back onto the Ducati and went directly to the pits before finishing 13th. Twan Smits was another faller after replacing Bahattin Sofuoglu at Motoxracing Yamaha. Loris Baz also crashed on the MGM Ducati and was running 21st at that stage. Petrucci had a technical problem near the beginning of the session and finished 22nd.

The session was not simply a sequence of late improvements. Much of the field spent time on used tyres, and several riders remained in the pits while the leading positions changed. Lecuona established an early benchmark of 1m30.036s before the pace fell sharply. Later, Bulega, Lowes and others joined the 1m28s bracket, with the final classification eventually placing Lecuona ahead of Bulega and Baldassarri.

Bulega’s second chance to seal the title

Bulega arrived in Italy with the WorldSBK championship lead after taking a third consecutive victory at Magny-Cours. The arithmetic for Sunday is clear: across the three races, he will become champion if he is not outscored by Lecuona by 23 points or more. This is his second opportunity to close out the title after France, where the points requirement was substantially less favourable to the Italian.

The scale of Bulega’s season is reflected in his 26 victories already accumulated in 2026. He has said that the title opportunity will not change his approach, so the target remains to race for wins rather than manage the weekend conservatively. Lecuona, by contrast, has acknowledged that the championship is no longer within his reach, while still believing he can be competitive in Cremona and fight for victories.

Cremona is not necessarily Bulega’s most natural circuit. He has explained that he has to think more than usual when riding there, even though he won all three races at the venue last year. That history makes his second place in FP1 useful, but the late crash adds an unwanted complication before the remaining practice and race sessions.

Pressure across the paddock

Montella began the weekend third in the championship, 46 points ahead of Alex Lowes, with nine races remaining. His Barni Ducati team is based near the Cremona circuit, giving the round a home-event character for the squad. Barni also arrives with a strong recent record at the track: Danilo Petrucci won all three races there for the team in 2024.

Bautista faces a different calculation. The two-time WorldSBK champion has had a difficult 2026 by his own standards and still hopes to produce results strong enough to improve his options for 2027. At 41, he has not finalised a place for next season, so the closing races carry significance beyond the immediate championship fight. His 10th place in FP1 was therefore a modest opening rather than the response he needs from the weekend.

BMW also arrived in Italy looking for a change of direction after a difficult Magny-Cours weekend. Miguel Oliveira said the manufacturer had not found a definitive explanation for its French struggles, but expected its fortunes to improve at Cremona. Friday’s first session did not yet provide a clear answer: the leading Ducati riders occupied six of the first seven places, while the BMW riders’ weekend is still developing.

Tarran Mackenzie was absent again as he continued recovering from injuries sustained at Donington before the summer break. Loris Baz replaced him at MGM Ducati and ended the session among the riders affected by a fall. Against that background, FP1 produced three immediate storylines: Lecuona’s outright speed, Bulega’s title opportunity and the pressure on riders and teams who need a stronger Cremona weekend as the 2026 season enters its final phase.