- Bulega swept Assen to set a record 13 consecutive WorldSBK wins.
- WorldSSP’s Oettl claimed a dramatic red-flag victory over Arenas and Oncu.
- Neila and Fleerackers triumph in last-lap WorldWCR and WorldSPB thrillers.
A winning rider really means business when all he says is to hope to see the interviewer again after the second race. And with the kind of form Nicolò Bulega is in right now, that’s barely being cocky.
As expected, he made it a hat-trick of hat-tricks at Assen to continue his perfect season so far. Race 2, however, started on a tricky note for the man from Emilia-Romagna.
Despite leading into turn 1, he found himself in P3 behind Sam Lowes and Iker Lecuona at turn 3. But by the third lap, Bulega made it clear who the real boss was and restored order.
Reflecting afterwards, Bulega said, “When you win 13 in a row, it gives you a lot of motivation for the races to come; it’s been good for my head. The Era of Bulega sounds good. I think we’re in a good era right now.”
The podium trio order was the same as the rest of the weekend’s races. Ducati’s dominance showed up even stronger than usual with Álvaro Bautista, Yari Montella, and Lorenzo Baldassarri completing a top-six lockout.
The Yamaha pair of Xavi Vierge and Andrea Locatelli were the next best. BMW’s Danilo Petrucci was ninth while Scotsman Tarran ‘Taz’ Mackenzie rounded the top-10 onboard another Panigale.
Earlier in the morning, and unlike Race 1, Bulega got a clean launch into turn 1 in the Superpole race. Taking the tightest of lines, Lecuona slid underneath and past Sam Lowes at turn 3 to take P2.
A 69-point lead means Bulega can skip the Balaton Park round in two weeks and still retain top spot. Not that he would want to, given the opportunity to win a record 14th consecutive WorldSBK race.
Support series shine again
In World SSP, Philipp Oettl became Germany’s first WSBK winner in eight years, beating Albert Arenas and Can Oncu. The red-flag-shortened Race 2 was also his first victory since the Jerez Moto3 GP in 2018.
Suzuki’s Ferre Fleerackers won his first-ever Sportbike race from pole, edging Matteo Vannucci by just 0.097s. The Assen magic was on full display as the top five finished within just over half a second.
Speaking of more magic, Beatriz Neila won the WorldWCR race on the final lap after an intense battle with championship leader Maria Herrera. It was yet another entry in the long list of memorable moments at the iconic Geert Timmer chicane.
2026 WorldSBK Riders’ Championship (after Assen Round 3)
| Pos | Rider | Team Name | Motorcycle | Points |
| 1 | Nicolò Bulega | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 186 |
| 2 | Iker Lecuona | Aruba.it Racing – Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 117 |
| 3 | Sam Lowes | ELF Marc VDS Racing Team | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 82 |
| 4 | Miguel Oliveira | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK | BMW M 1000 RR | 69 |
| 5 | Alex Lowes | Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team | Bimota KB998 | 69 |
| 6 | Axel Bassani | Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team | Bimota KB998 | 67 |
| 7 | Álvaro Bautista | Barni Spark Racing Team | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 59 |
| 8 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | Team GoEleven | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 58 |
| 9 | Yari Montella | Barni Spark Racing Team | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 48 |
| 10 | Andrea Locatelli | Pata Maxus Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 44 |
| 11 | Danilo Petrucci | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK | BMW M 1000 RR | 41 |
| 12 | Xavi Vierge | Pata Maxus Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 34 |
| 13 | Tarran Mackenzie | MGM Racing Performance | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 32 |
| 14 | Garrett Gerloff | Kawasaki WorldSBK Team | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR | 24 |
| 15 | Remy Gardner | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 16 |
| 16 | Alberto Surra | Motocorsa Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 13 |
| 17 | Stefano Manzi | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 8 |
| 18 | Tetsuta Nagashima | Honda HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 7 |
| 19 | Tommy Bridewell | Superbike Advocates Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | 6 |
| 20 | Jonathan Rea | Honda HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 4 |
| 21 | Ryan Vickers | Honda HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 1 |
| 22 | Bahattin Sofuoğlu | Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 1 |
| 23 | Somkiat Chantra | Honda HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R | 1 |
| 24 | Mattia Rato | Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 0 |
| 25 | Twan Smits | Team Apreco | Yamaha YZF-R1 | 0 |
Manufacturers standings
| Pos | Manufacturer | Points | Motorcycle |
| 1 | Ducati | 186 | Panigale V4 R |
| 2 | Bimota | 95 | KB998 |
| 3 | BMW | 76 | M 1000 RR |
| 4 | Yamaha | 57 | YZF-R1 |
| 5 | Kawasaki | 24 | Ninja ZX-10RR |
| 6 | Honda | 11 | CBR1000RR-R |
