Recent Form and Momentum

  • Aruba.it Racing – Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega arrives at the TT Circuit Assen as Championship leader after winning the first six races of the 2026 season.
     
  • His teammate Iker Lecuona sits second in the standings, 56 points behind, having secured two second place finishes at the previous round.
     
  • Bulega’s 56-point advantage after six races marks the second-largest lead at this stage of a WorldSBK season. Only Carl Fogarty held a bigger margin in 1995, when he led Mauro Lucchiari by 68 points (140–72).
     
  • Third in the standings with 60 points is Axel Bassani for bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team, followed by rookie Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) with 56 points. The Portuguese rider heads to Assen in strong form after claiming three podium finishes at his home round in Portimao.
     
  • The Lowes brothers complete the current top six in the Championship: Alex Lowes (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) is fifth with 48 points, while Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) sits sixth, five points adrift.

Team & Rider News

  • After missing both the Australian and Portuguese rounds, injured Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) will also be absent from the Pirelli Dutch Round. Jonathan Rea continues as his replacement.
     
  • Dutch rider Twan Smits will compete as a Wild Card entry with Team Apreco at his home event. Smits has previously raced at Assen in both WorldSSP and WorldSSP300, but this weekend marks his debut in the WorldSBK class.

Historical Performance

  • Jonathan Rea holds the all-time record at Assen, with 17 victories at the TT Circuit, the most wins any rider has achieved at a single WorldSBK venue.
     
  • Barni Spark Racing Team’s Alvaro Bautista is the next most successful active rider at Assen, with seven victories to his name.
     
  • The 2025 Dutch Round featured three different race winners, including Nicolo Bulega and Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha), who secured Yamaha’s most recent WorldSBK victory.

Milestones & Spotlight

  • At 26 years, 6 months and 2 days old on Saturday at Assen, Bulega has already claimed 26 career WorldSBK victories. At the same age, only Toprak Razgatlioglu had achieved more wins in the Championship’s history, with 33.
     
  • With a perfect six wins from six races in 2026, Bulega also has the opportunity to extend his winning streak to nine consecutive victories. Such a run has only been achieved twice in WorldSBK history: by Neil Hodgson in 2003 and Alvaro Bautista in 2019, who opened the season with 11 straight wins.
- Advertisement -

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR