Ducati has crushed everything in the previous six rounds: how can we imagine that the situation could change at Misano, home circuit and traditional hunting ground for the brand? The first sessions were indeed a real show in red.
Leading the pack of Panigale V4 Rs is, of course, Nicolò Bulega. The "Cannibal," as he's known, is riding a 22-race winning streak and unsurprisingly dominates the standings. His first benchmark time is 1'32"733, just shy of the race record of 1'32"687 set two years ago by Toprak Razgatlioglu on a BMW. The absolute record remains 1'31"618, the Superpole time achieved last year by Bulega himself.
The cat is not here
It's incredible to think that Nicolò, here at Misano, one of the circuits where he first started out, has yet to win a Superbike race. He made his debut in 2024 and therefore has only six races in the premier class at this circuit: five second-place finishes behind Toprak Razgatlioglu, who was phenomenal here for two consecutive years. The only zero-point result, in last year's Superpole Race, came about after a daring move by Axel Bassani in the first corner, which cost both riders valuable points. But especially Nicolò, who, let's remember, lost the 2025 title by just eleven points. Winning the sprint race is worth twelve.
One last look at the fastest rider this morning, @nbulega 🆙🔥#EmiliaRomagnaWorldSBK 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/YnwdbDhgk4
- WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) June 12, 2026
In single file
In this first session, six Ducatis were at the front, with Iker Lecuona very close to the leader, just 56 thousandths of a second behind. They were followed by the satellite riders: Sam Lowes, Yari Montella, Alberto Surra, and Lorenzo Baldassarri. It was as if they were saying: give me a Ducati, and I'll take care of the rest. The best of the rest was Xavi Vierge on the Yamaha: the teams completed two days of testing here last month, which seemed to have resolved the issues that had plagued the YZF-R1 since the start of the season. A less than convincing start for Bimota, however, with Bassani eighth, nearly a second off the pace. No chance for BMW, which fielded a returning Miguel Oliveira, still lacking pace (17th fastest), and still had to do without Danilo Petrucci, once again replaced by the Dutchman Michael van der Mark (15th). Honda HRC, once again, was nowhere to be seen—and unfortunately, that came as no surprise.
A full general staff
Ducati is dominating this edition of the Superbike World Championship thanks to a massive technical commitment. The racing department is fully involved in the project, as evidenced by the presence of the entire management team in the Aruba garage at Misano: Davide Barana, Technical Director of Ducati Corse; Marco Zambenedetti, Superbike Project Coordinator, the highest-ranking technical official present at every round of the championship; and Luigi Dall'Igna, Managing Director of Ducati Corse. This weekend, at the circuit closest to Borgo Panigale, the two factory riders, Nicolò Bulega and Iker Lecuona, will have a higher level of technical potential than ever before.
Superbike Misano – FP1 standings:
Ranking : World SBK
