Hungary WSBK Recap: Bulega makes history, but action rages behind

• Bulega took his 16th consecutive victory during WSBK’s Round 4 in Hungary.
• Lecuona took another second-place hat-trick, approaching an unwanted record.
• Balaton Park delivered dramatic crashes and standout rookie performances.

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Yes, Bulega won. All three races, 16 in a row, including 12 straight in 2026 for the best start to a WorldSBK season. Anyone could have called it from a mile away. And yet, he felt he “didn’t have a perfect feeling.” 

But then, how can anyone question the man who is tearing apart all notions of being perfect? Even Lady Luck was on his side, as a red flag bailed him out of a poor start in the Superpole Race. Isn’t that so, Nicolò?

While the Italian was dominating Balaton Park despite personal discomfort, his Ducati teammate, Iker Lecuona, was losing perfectly. Fans had a glimmer of hope when he topped both Friday practice sessions. Sadly, that flickered away after he qualified fifth, and a three-place grid penalty for slow riding compounded his woes further.

P8 on the grid was, however, light work for the Spaniard, especially onboard the factory spec Panigale V4 R. He completed his own hat-trick of entire rounds as runner-up and closed in on Jonathan Rea’s somewhat unwanted record of 10 consecutive P2s in 2019. While the other rider in his garage isn’t giving so much as an inch to anyone, the only way Lecuona doesn’t break it is by finishing third. Perhaps.

Four consecutive hat-tricks! 🎩 @nbulega puts on another dominant performance to win Race 2 and continue unbeaten in 2026 🏆#HungarianWorldSBK 🇭🇺 #WorldSBK pic.twitter.com/WpCYllf2Ct

— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) May 3, 2026

The other battles at Balaton Park

Elsewhere, Motocorsa Racing rookie Alberto Surra turned heads when he rocketed to second off the line in Race 1 from P7 on the grid. The Turin-born youngster even held it for six laps before, one by one, the field reeled him in. He wasn’t done there either, improving to sixth and seventh in the Superpole Race and Race 2, respectively.

Lorenzo Baldassarri’s weekend in Hungary was almost as dramatic as his high-speed Turn 8 crash on Lap 2 of Race 1. A first WSBK front row start was followed by that accident before a defiant return on Sunday. He toughed it out for P3 in the Superpole Race and P4 in Race 2.

Miguel Oliveira, meanwhile, wasn’t as fortunate as his Superpole Race crash had him lying defenceless in the middle of the track along with Andrea Locatelli. Thankfully, it only caused the red flag as both remained conscious in a situation that could have been much worse. ‘Loka’ was handed a double long lap penalty by the stewards for causing the collision.

After a podium in Race 1, that Turn 6 scare meant Oliveira was declared unfit for Race 2. His BMW teammate, Danilo Petrucci, was also ruled out with a left hip contusion after contact with Bahattin Sofuoglu on the first lap of the restarted Superpole Race.

That was this year’s WSBK at Balaton Park in Hungary. A weekend full of real racing, extraordinary moments, and nerve-racking drama. All of it behind a man who wasn’t even at his best and still dominated. Next up, Round 5 in the Czech Republic from May 15th-17th.

2026 WorldSBK Riders’ Championship (after Hungary Round 4)

Pos	Rider	Nationality	Team	Bike	Points
1	Nicolo Bulega	ITA	Aruba.it Racing Ducati	Ducati Panigale V4 R	248
2	Iker Lecuona	ESP	Aruba.it Racing Ducati	Ducati Panigale V4 R	166
3	Sam Lowes	GBR	Marc VDS Racing Team	Ducati Panigale V4 R	99
4	Miguel Oliveira	POR	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW M1000 RR	85
5	Yari Montella	ITA	Barni Spark Racing Team	Ducati Panigale V4 R	82
6	Alex Lowes	GBR	Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team	Bimota KB998	82
7	Alvaro Bautista	ESP	Barni Spark Racing Team	Ducati Panigale V4 R	81
8	Lorenzo Baldassarri	ITA	Team Go Eleven	Ducati Panigale V4 R	78
9	Axel Bassani	ITA	Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team	Bimota KB998	67
10	Andrea Locatelli	ITA	Pata Maxus Yamaha	Yamaha R1	53
11	Danilo Petrucci	ITA	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW M1000 RR	46
12	Tarran Mackenzie	GBR	MGM Optical Express Racing	Ducati Panigale V4 R	45
13	Xavi Vierge	ESP	Pata Maxus Yamaha	Yamaha R1	44
14	Garrett Gerloff	USA	Kawasaki WorldSBK Team	Kawasaki ZX-10RR	40
15	Alberto Surra	ITA	Motocorsa Racing	Ducati Panigale V4 R	34
16	Remy Gardner	AUS	GYTR GRT Yamaha	Yamaha R1	23
17	Stefano Manzi	ITA	GYTR GRT Yamaha	Yamaha R1	15
18	Tommy Bridewell	GBR	Superbike Advocates Racing	Ducati Panigale V4 R	8
19	Tetsuta Nagashima	JPN	Honda HRC	Honda CBR1000RR-R	7
20	Jonathan Rea	GBR	Honda HRC	Honda CBR1000RR-R	4
21	Bahattin Sofuoglu	TUR	Motoxracing Yamaha	Yamaha R1	4
22	Somkiat Chantra	THA	Honda HRC	Honda CBR1000RR-R	2
23	Mattia Rato	ITA	Motoxracing Yamaha	Yamaha R1	2
24	Ryan Vickers	GBR	Honda HRC	Honda CBR1000RR-R	1
25	Twan Smits	NED	Team Apreco	Yamaha R1	0
26	Yuki Kunii	JPN	Honda HRC	Honda CBR1000RR-R	0