Bulega Takes Historic 14th Straight Win in Balaton Park Race 1

F1 Grand Prix, GP Miami, Miami

Nicolo Bulega extended his extraordinary winning streak to 14 races with a dominant performance in Race 1 at the Balaton Park Circuit, making WorldSBK history as he surpassed Toprak Razgatlioglu’s previous record.

The Ducati rider controlled the race from pole, pulling clear in the opening laps and eventually beating Aruba.it Racing team‑mate Iker Lecuona by 2.5 seconds.

Bulega’s start was clean, but the early surprise came from Alberto Surra, who launched from seventh to second at Turn 1. His challenge faded as Bulega immediately built a two‑second cushion, while Lorenzo Baldassarri’s hopes ended with a high‑speed crash at Turn 8 on Lap 2. He was later declared fit despite elbow and knee contusions.

Lecuona carved his way forward with measured precision, overtaking Miguel Oliveira on Lap 5 and Yari Montella a lap later, before dispatching Surra on Lap 7 to secure second place.

Bulega, already out of reach, eased to his 30th win for Ducati and his 23rd consecutive podium, leaving him just two shy of the all‑time rostrum streak shared by Colin Edwards and Razgatlioglu.

The fight for third produced some of the race’s best action. Surra, Montella and Oliveira traded places repeatedly until the BMW rider forced his way into the final podium spot on Lap 9. Oliveira then broke free to claim his fourth WorldSBK podium, all of them third‑place finishes. Montella settled for fourth, with Surra eventually slipping to eighth.

The battle for fifth went down to the closing laps as Alvaro Bautista reeled in Alex Lowes. Bautista made the decisive move at Turn 1 on Lap 20, securing fifth ahead of the Kawasaki rider. Andrea Locatelli finished seventh as the top Yamaha, while Sam Lowes recovered to ninth after serving a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start.

Xavi Vierge won a late scrap for tenth after Axel Bassani ran wide on the final lap, allowing Danilo Petrucci to take 11th. Tarran Mackenzie, Garrett Gerloff, Tommy Bridewell and Stefano Manzi completed the points.

Remy Gardner, hampered by a three‑place grid penalty, finished 16th, while Bahattin Sofuoglu, Somkiat Chantra, Mattia Rato and Yuki Kunii rounded out the finishers.