Bulega Back to Winning Ways — Estoril Double Records, Arenas Crowned, Triumph One‑Two

The Circuito Estoril hosted a day of milestones and memories on Saturday, with Nicolo Bulega smashing lap records to claim victory and equal a season win tally, Albert Arenas officially sealing the WorldSSP crown, and Triumph dominating the podium in a photo finish. Here’s everything that unfolded across both classes.

WorldSBK — Bulega Blazes to Record‑Breaking Win

Superpole — Bulega Untouchable

The day began with Bulega in imperious form, laying down a blistering 1’33.884s on his first flying lap to claim his 11th pole of the season — and a new all‑time Estoril lap record. Teammate Iker Lecuona slotted into second, just 0.157s adrift, while Alex Lowes delivered Bimota’s best qualifying performance in recent memory, taking third and improving on his 2025 time by more than eight tenths of a second. Home hero Miguel Oliveira delighted the crowd with fifth on the grid — his strongest starting position since Round 4 at Balaton Park.

Race 1 — Lecuona Leads Early, Bulega Takes Charge

When the lights went out, it was Lecuona who got the jump, leading the opening two laps and showing impressive pace at the front. Bulega sat patiently in his wake before making his move, sweeping past and immediately pulling away. Over the 21‑lap distance he extended his advantage to nearly four seconds, crossing the line to equal Alvaro Bautista’s record of 27 wins in a single season — and setting a new race lap record of 1’34.964s in the process.

Behind the leading Ducatis, Alberto Surra enjoyed a breakthrough afternoon. Starting fourth, he moved ahead of Alex Lowes on Lap 2 and then settled into a consistent rhythm to claim his second career podium — and his first in a full‑length race.

Oliveira was the crowd’s favourite, making decisive moves at Turn 1 on both Yari Montella and Lowes in the early laps to take fourth — BMW’s best result in 20 races. Montella had been running strongly but suffered contact with Lorenzo Baldassarri that damaged his Ducati and dropped him to tenth; he fought back impressively from Lap 14 onwards, overtaking Sam Lowes and Alvaro Bautista to finish eighth.

Race 1 Top 10

Reactions

Nicolo Bulega — P1:

“I’m really happy to be back winning races and with how I rode today. I want to thank my team — after Cremona I needed to find my feeling again, and we did. I want to finish my Superbike career the right way. Beating the single‑season win record is a goal, but the most important thing is just winning races.”

Iker Lecuona — P2:

“It’s not a bad result, but I’m frustrated because I didn’t feel comfortable on the bike. When Nicolo passed me I realised he had so much more confidence — his bike was working better. I’ll learn from this. It’s my first year here and he has more experience with this machine. We’re fast, but I want more.”

Alberto Surra — P3:

“This is my first podium in a full race weekend — it feels amazing. We improved the setup before Cremona and made more changes to the electronics here. The feeling is great right now. Another podium is definitely possible.”

WorldSSP — Arenas Crowned as Triumph Take Photo‑Finish Win

Race 1 — Booth‑Amos Edges Bayliss

While the title was already within his grasp, Tom Booth‑Amos produced a stunning final‑lap move to deny teammate Oli Bayliss and claim victory by just 0.075s — a PTR Triumph one‑two that had the British manufacturer celebrating. The pair had shared the lead for nine laps, pulling clear of the rest of the field, before Booth‑Amos dived past at Turn 9 to secure his third win of the season. Jeremy Alcoba completed the podium, just 0.147s behind the winners.

Title Secured — Arenas Makes It Official

Starting from the third row, Albert Arenas rode a smart, controlled race to finish fourth — enough to extend his championship lead to an unassailable 89 points with only 75 left to play for. He led one lap and remained in the top five from Lap 3 onwards, doing exactly what he needed to do to put the crown beyond reach.

Challenger Valentin Debise could only manage sixth from the sixth row, his slim title hopes fading as the gap grew. Yamaha also celebrated, securing the Manufacturers’ Championship with an unbeatable 97‑point lead over Ducati.

Roberto Garcia set the fastest lap of the race to claim pole position for Race 2, with Booth‑Amos and Debise joining him on the front row.

Race 1 Top 6

Reactions

Tom Booth‑Amos — P1:

“I’m over the moon to win here — outside Donington too! I’ve said all weekend I’m not a huge fan of this track, so to come away with a win is amazing. We’ve worked so well together all weekend. I’ve closed the gap in the fight for third too — just need to do it all again tomorrow!”

Albert Arenas — World Champion:

“I knew the pace was there and we’d done the work, so I gave it everything. There were two rockets on the Triumphs out front today! I fought as hard as I could and finished it at 100%. It feels incredible to be champion.”

What’s Next

Sunday brings more racing: WorldSBK Race 2 and Race 3, plus the final WorldSSP encounter of the Estoril weekend. Can Bulega make it another double? Will the Triumph battle resume? And who will join Arenas on the podium to celebrate the new champion? Don’t miss a moment.