Pirelli Portuguese Round Race 1

Nicolò Bulega continued his imperious form by claiming a dominant victory in Race 1, extending his winning streak to eight consecutive races. Bulega converted his pole position—set with a new lap record of 1:38.495—into an immediate lead and never looked back, eventually crossing the line 2.522 seconds ahead of the field.

The victory was a landmark moment for the Italian, as he equaled Carlos Checa’s career win tally and secured Ducati’s 1200th podium in WorldSBK history. The battle for the remaining podium spots provided the day's primary drama.

Iker Lecuona secured a 1-2 finish for the factory Ducati squad, marking his first podium in 531 days and his first since joining the team. He was pushed to the limit by Miguel Oliveira, who delighted the local fans by taking third place.

This result made Oliveira the 138th rider to achieve a WorldSBK rostrum and the first Portuguese rider to do so on home soil. Behind them, the Lowes brothers had a productive day, with Alex finishing fourth on the new Bimota by Kawasaki and Sam taking an impressive fifth despite nursing a wrist injury.

1 /Nicolo Bulega /Aruba.it Racing Ducati /WIN 2 /Iker Lecuona /Aruba.it Racing Ducati /+2.522 3 /Miguel Oliveira /ROKiT BMW Motorrad /+4.815 4 /Alex Lowes /Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team /+9.152 5 /Sam Lowes /Marc VDS Racing Team /+12.147 6 /Xavi Vierge /Pata Maxus Yamaha /+18.016 7 /Garrett Gerloff /Kawasaki WorldSBK Team /+18.373 8 /Axel Bassani /Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team /+19.220 9 /Alvaro Bautista /Barni Spark Racing /+19.428 10 /Danilo Petrucci /ROKiT BMW Motorrad /+20.548 11 /Lorenzo Baldassarri /Team Go Eleven /+21.126 12 /Andrea Locatelli /Pata Maxus Yamaha /+24.850 13 /Remy Gardner /GYTR GRT Yamaha /+25.867 14 /Tarran Mackenzie /MGM Optical Express Racing /+26.006 15 /Alberto Surra /Motocorsa Racing /+31.377 16 /Yari Montella /Barni Spark Racing /+34.081 17 /Stefano Manzi /GYTR GRT Yamaha /+34.982 18 /Somkiat Chantra /Honda HRC /+35.461 19 /Jonathan Rea /HRC Test Team /+37.111 20 /Bahattin Sofuoglu /Motoxracing Yamaha /+52.439 21 /Mattia Rato /Motoxracing Yamaha /+57.238 DNF /Tommy Bridewell /Superbike Advocates Racing /+DNF