13:06
No restart time confirmed yet but it will be a 21-lap race with grid positions based on Superpole results.
Nicolo Bulega, 2026 Czech WorldSBK. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
2026 Czech WorldSBK Race 1 LIVE: Bulega beats Lecuona to Race 1 win
Live updates from Race 1 at the 2026 Czech WorldSBK at Autodrom Most, which will start with Nicolo Bulega on pole position.
Live coverage of Race 1 at the 2026 Czech WorldSBK, which is due to start at 14:00 local time at Most.
Key Moments
- Bulega beats Lecuona after race-long battle
- Sam Lowes taken out by Surra
- Petrucci out, brings out red flags
- Bulega starts on pole after record lap
- Grid penalties for van der Mark and Chantra
Nicolo Bulega starts on pole for today's Race 1 at Most after a lap in Superpole that demolished the previous lap record. The Italian is unbeaten in the last 16 races and has won the last 15 from pole.
Iker Lecuona starts third today having also been out-qualified by Yari Montella. The Spanish rider sensed an opportunity to beat Nicolo Bulega this weekend after the championship leader crashed in FP2 yesterday, but his Superpole performance wasn't encouraging in this regard.
Garrett Gerloff was fastest yesterday afternoon, the American making a surprise jump to the top of the times with a fresh tyre late on. He backed up his FP2 performance with a third-fastest time in FP3 this morning, although he says his target for this weekend is a top-five. He starts sixth this afternoon as the lead non-Ducati rider after Sam Lowes and Alberto Surra qualified fourth and fifth, respectively.
Gerloff has been the best of the non-Ducati riders this weekend. There had been strong showings from Bimota and BMW, in particular with Alex Lowes and Danilo Petrucci, although Lowes qualified down in 15th this morning.
Miguel Oliveira is the most recent non-Ducati rider to get a podium, that coming in Race 1 at Balaton, but the Portuguese is out through injury this weekend and being replaced by Michael van der Mark who qualified 12th, three places behind teammate Petrucci in ninth.
There will be no Alvaro Bautista, either, on the Race 1 grid after he fractured his right ankle in FP3 this morning.
16 May 2026
13:05
TV images showing Petrucci being carried away from the turn 13 gravel trap on a stretcher. He's been taken to the medical centre.
13:03
Red flag
Red flag as the riders get to turn one on lap two. No perimeter road here, which is maybe the cause for the stoppage after Petrucci's crash.
13:02
Petrucci OUT
Petrucci has crashed at turn 13, looks like he high-sided on entry.
13:01
Race 1 start
It's lights out in Most for Race 1 and it's a holeshot for Bulega, then Montella and Lecuona second and third. Surra fourth, then Sam Lowes.
12:59
Warm up lap
Riders are off on their warm-up lap ahead of Race 1.
12:52
Van der Mark, of course, is riding in place of Miguel Oliveira this weekend, the Portuguese missing out after his injury in Hungary two weeks ago.
Shaun Muir spoke to WorldSBK.com on Friday and explained that there is "no fixed timeline" for Oliveira's return.
Full story here.
Miguel Oliveira, 2026 Hungarian WorldSBK, pit box. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
12:46
Grid
Two penalties for the grid today with both Michael van der Mark and Somkiat Chantra sent to the back of the grid for yellow flag infringements in FP3 this morning. The starting order for today's Race 1 is therefore as follows.
| 1 | Nicolo Bulega | ITA | Aruba.it Racing Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | |
| 2 | Yari Montella | ITA | Barni Spark Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | |
| 3 | Iker Lecuona | ESP | Aruba.it Racing Ducati | Ducati Panigale V4 R | |
| 4 | Sam Lowes | GBR | Marc VDS Racing Team | Ducati Panigale V4 R | |
| 5 | Alberto Surra | ITA | Motocorsa Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | |
| 6 | Garrett Gerloff | USA | Kawasaki WorldSBK Team | Kawasaki ZX-10RR | |
| 7 | Axel Bassani | ITA | Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team | Bimota KB998 | |
| 8 | Lorenzo Baldassarri | ITA | Team Go Eleven | Ducati Panigale V4 R | |
| 9 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | ROKiT BMW Motorrad | BMW M1000 RR | |
| 10 | Stefano Manzi | ITA | GYTR GRT Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | |
| 11 | Xavi Vierge | ESP | Pata Maxus Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | |
| 12 | Tarran Mackenzie | GBR | MGM Optical Express Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | |
| 13 | Andrea Locatelli | ITA | Pata Maxus Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | |
| 14 | Alex Lowes | GBR | Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team | Bimota KB998 | |
| 15 | Tommy Bridewell | GBR | Superbike Advocates Racing | Ducati Panigale V4 R | |
| 16 | Bahattin Sofuoglu | TUR | Motoxracing Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | |
| 17 | Remy Gardner | AUS | GYTR GRT Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | |
| 18 | Mattia Rato | ITA | Motoxracing Yamaha | Yamaha R1 | |
| 19 | Yuki Kunii | JPN | Honda HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R | |
| 20 | Michael van der Mark | NED | ROKiT BMW Motorrad | BMW M1000 RR | |
| 21 | Somkiat Chantra | THA | Honda HRC | Honda CBR1000RR-R |
12:43
Riders on the grid
Pit lane has opened in Most and the riders have headed to the grid ahead of this 22-lap Race 1.
12:35
Conditions
Still dry ahead of Race 1 but the clouds are looking increasingly dark overhead.
Slightly warmer than this morning at 16C air temperature and 34C track temperature.
12:24
Bautista out
In case you missed it earlier, Alvaro Bautista will not be taking part in the remainder of this weekend in Czechia after he crashed in FP3 this morning and broke his right ankle.
Full story here.
Alvaro Bautista, Czech WorldSBK 2026.
© Gold & Goose
12:20
Race 1
Welcome back to live coverage of today’s WorldSBK action from Most, where Race 1 is due to start in around 40 minutes at 14:00 local time.
10:41
10:32
Bulega takes Most pole
Chequered flag is out in Czechia and it's Bulega on pole for the sixth round in succession.
Montella and Lecuona make it five from five Ducati front row lockouts in 2026.
Sam Lowes fourth, then Surra and Gerloff complete the second row.
Bassani, Baldassarri, and Petrucci on row three. Manzi completes the top-10 ahead of Vierge and van der Mark on row four.
10:27
Bulega pole
Bulega's smashed them all, 1m29.635s, he's 0.4s clear of the field, which now has Lecuona in P2.
10:26
Montella now to pole, 1m30.051s is a new lap record, beating Razgatlioglu's from 2024.
10:23
Top 10
Everyone back in the pits now ahead of the second run. Top 10 is:
- Lecuona
- Bulega
- Montella
- Gerloff
- Baldassarri
- Petrucci
- Bassani
- Vierge
- A. Lowes
- S. Lowes
6 minutes to go.
10:21
Lecuona now to provisional pole by 0.038s over Bulega.
10:20
Shortly before Bulega set his lap, Alex Lowes crashed at turn one, his third of the weekend and second of the day. He's sat in eighth at the moment.
10:19
Gerloff with an early benchmark at 1m30.637s, but he's quickly beaten by Bulega and Montella, the former down to a 30.203s.
10:15
Superpole start
Pit lane is open in Most and we are underway for 15 minutes of Superpole.
10:13
If you're like us and have only just heard the term 'medial malleolus' for the first time this morning, the two-time champion has effectively fractured the inner bump of his ankle.
10:12
Bautista unfit
Alvaro Bautista has been declared unfit after his FP3 crash having suffered a right medial malleolus fracture.
10:09
Conditions
Fairly chilly this morning in Most, 13C air temperature, but 27C track temperature should be fairly workable for the riders in this Superpole session, which is now just over five minutes away.
10:03
Can Bulega make it 5?
Bulega's win streak is well-documented in WorldSBK by now so it almost goes under the radar that he's taken every pole position this season as well. Of course, he took pole in Jerez last year as well, so a pole today would be his sixth in succession and fifth from five in 2026.
In terms of where that kind of run would put him compared to the best ever, Jonathan Rea opened the 2021 season with a run of eight consecutive poles.