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Superbike Portimao 2026 qualifying: Nicolò Bulega takes pole with a record in the Superpole. Discover results, times and starting grid
Ultimogiro Newsroom · 28 March 2026 · 3 min read
The Superbike Portimao 2026 qualifying saw Nicolò Bulega take pole position with a record lap in Saturday’s Superpole.
Portimão speaks Italian and, above all, speaks Ducati. On Saturday 28 March 2026, the Superpole of the Portuguese round of the Superbike World Championship confirmed the values seen in the first outings of the season: Nicolò Bulega is the man to beat.
On the technical and spectacular layout of the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, the rider from Emilia took pole position with an extraordinary lap in 1’38.495, a new lap record. A time that not only earns the front row start, but also sends a clear signal of strength to the entire championship.
Behind him, a front row entirely monopolised by Ducati: Iker Lecuona second and Yari Montella third, completing a one-two-three that confirms the superiority of the Panigale V4R on the flying lap.
The Superpole was not just a formality. For much of the session, Iker Lecuona was in control of the standings, showing increasing confidence with the official Ducati.
The Spaniard came very close to taking pole position, but at the decisive moment Bulega hit back: a perfect lap, built sector by sector, which definitively rewrote the lap times at the Portuguese track.
The internal battle in the Ducati pits thus becomes one of the most interesting elements of this start to the 2026 season.
The Portimão circuit, at 4,592 km, is one of the most complex on the Superbike calendar. Elevation changes, blind corners and constant load shifts put the chassis and electronics under severe pressure.
In this context, Ducati made the difference in three key areas:
Stability under braking, crucial in downhill stopping zones
Traction on exit, decisive in slow corners and on the drive out
Balance through the fast sweepers, where the bike remains composed despite the changes in gradient
Added to all this is Bulega’s precision on the flying lap, capable of exploiting every technical detail of the bike.
If Ducati is smiling, the others are chasing. After an encouraging Friday for some of the key names, qualifying restored the hierarchy.
BMW still appears to be in development on the flying lap
Yamaha is paying something in terms of outright speed
Honda remains far from the leading positions
Bimota shows interesting signs but nothing yet concrete for pole
The gap seen in the Superpole is significant, even if the differences could shrink on race pace.
Nicolò Bulega (Ducati) – 1’38.495
Iker Lecuona (Ducati)
Yari Montella (Ducati)
The pole position claimed by Bulega puts him as the big favourite for Race 1, but the real variable could be the internal rivalry.
Lecuona has shown he has the pace to stay close to the leader, while Montella could emerge as an outsider if there is a tight battle in the opening laps.
Portimão, a spectacular and unpredictable circuit, could produce a race less straightforward than the Superpole suggests.
After the qualifying session of 28 March 2026, one certainty emerges: Nicolò Bulega is the technical and sporting benchmark of current Superbike.
Ducati dominates, but the season is long. And if the main rival were to come from the same pits, the championship could turn into an all-internal battle.
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Nicolò Bulega wins Race 2 at Misano and completes a perfect hat-trick in the Emilia-Romagna Round of Superbike 2026. Ducati dominates in front of the Italian fans and the World Championship now seems to be in the hands of the rider from Emilia.
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