10:06
Bulega crash
Late crash for Bulega down at turn 10. He looks to be okay but a small blip there for the championship leader.
Nicolo Bulega, 2026 French WorldSBK. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
LIVE
Cremona WorldSBK LIVE: Updates from Friday practice in Italy
Live coverage of the Friday practice sessions at the 2026 Cremona WorldSBK where Nicolo Bulega can win the title this weekend.
Live updates from Friday practice at the 2026 Cremona WorldSBK, the third-last round of 2026 and the second title chance for Nicolo Bulega. FP1 is due to start at 10:20 local time, with FP2 coming up this afternoon at 15:00.
Key Moment
- Late crash for Bulega
- Montella crashes at the final corner
- FP1 starts in dry conditions
Nicolo Bulega arrives at Cremona with the championship lead in WorldSBK after securing yet another triple at Magny-Cours. The title permutations are relatively simple for Bulega this weekend: if he drops less than 23 points across the three races to Iker Lecuona, he'll be champion by the end of Sunday. It will be Bulega's second title chance after France, but there he needed to out-score Lecuona by over 30 points, meaning the ball is much more in the Italian's court this time around.
As for Lecuona, the Spaniard talked up his chances of being competitive this weekend, although he admitted the title is gone. What could help Lecuona's hopes of taking race wins this weekend is Bulega's general discomfort at Cremona. Yesterday, the Italian said he has to think too much when riding at Cremona, suggesting it's not a layout that naturally suits him, although he did win here last year in all three races.
Third in the championship coming into this weekend is Yari Montella, and the Magny-Cours round was very positive for him from a points perspective. He's now 46 points clear of Alex Lowes in fourth place, meaning he has a sizeable margin to manage in the final nine races of the season. His Barni Ducati team is based close to the Cremona track, so it's very much a home race for the team that won all three races here in 2024.
Even if it's a home race for the team, it is set to be a difficult one for Alvaro Bautista, who has struggled in general this year. He spoke yesterday of his continued hopes of being able to perform well enough in the final races of this year to have decent options available for 2027, but there are no firm options yet for the 41-year-old.
Those 2024 Barni wins were won by Danilo Petrucci, who struggled massively at Magny-Cours, as did his BMW team-mate Miguel Oliveira. Oliveira said yesterday that there was no definitive cause determined by BMW for its French struggles, but he was hopeful that their fortunes would be better in Italy.
There is again no Tarran Mackenzie this weekend in Italy as he continues to recover from the injuries he sustained at Donington before the summer break. He will be replaced by Loris Baz at the MGM Ducati team.
25 Sep 2026
10:15
FP1 Results
2026 cremona worldsbk - fp1 result
Iker Lecuona, 2026 Italian WorldSBK. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
10:08
Lecuona tops FP1
Chequered flag is out on FP1 and it's Iker Lecuona who ends fastest ahead of Bulega and Baldassarri who improved late on.
Sam Lowes fourth ahead of Montella and Surra who complete an all-Ducati top-six.
Alex Lowes the leading non-Ducati in seventh and almost 0.7s off the pace of Lecuona. Gerloff, Bautista, and Bassani complete the top-10.
10:04
Bulega still second in the session but lapping consistently in the mid-1m28s. Solid pace from the championship leader.
10:01
Finally an improvement from Motella, 1m28.847s puts him up to fourth.
All-Ducati top-six now as well with Surra and Baldassarri ahead of Alex Lowes in seventh.
09:57
Crash for Twan Smits, replacement for Bahattin Sofuoglu at Motoxracing Yamaha.
Loris Baz has also gone down on the MGM Ducati. He's down in 21st at the moment.
09:56
Montella back out after his crash earlier on but still down in 13th. Tough start to the weekend for the rider currently third in the session.
09:52
A lot of used tyre running going on at the moment, with a few riders in the pits as well.
Not a lot of improvements coming in, including from Danilo Petrucci who had a technical problem at the start of the session and is down in 22nd and almost 4s off the pace at the moment.
09:42
Most riders in the pits as Bulega improves to 1m28.398. He and Lecuona now 0.4s clear of Sam Lowes in third.
09:36
Crash for Montella at the final corner. Down in 13th at the moment. He's back up and on the bike and straight into the pits.
09:35
Sam Lowes also into the 1m28s as he moves up to fifth.
09:33
Bulega improves, 1m28.419s puts him within half-a-tenth of Lecuona now. Surra also into the 1m28s in fourth.
09:29
Lecuona, Lowes & Bulega down into the 1m28s now.
1m28.641s for Lecuona, 1m28.900s for Bulega, 1m28.959s for Lowes.
09:26
Lap records, for reference, are all in the 1m27s.
Pole record - 1m27.866s
Race record - 1m27.980s
Fastest lap in Race 2 last year, so not the shorter Superpole Race, was 1m28.576s.
09:24
Lecuona with the early benchmark in FP1, 1m30.036s puts him 0.3s clear of Dixon after the first timed laps.
09:20
FP1 start
Pit lane is open at Cremona and we are underway for FP1.
09:19
Conditions
Pit lane only a minute or so away from opening and conditions are decent this morning. Not too warm with 19C air temperature and 20C track temperature, and it looks fairly hazy, but it's a dry start to Friday.
09:09
World Sportbike FP1 has just wrapped up at Cremona. WorldSBK is up next and only 10 minutes away.
09:03
Bautista still looking for 2027 ride
Alvaro Bautista's 2026 season has been dire so far, by the standards of a two-time WorldSBK champion.
The Spaniard is still hopeful of finding a ride for 2027, though, although he knows he needs to improve his results in 2026 to find better options.
Full story here.
Alvaro Bautista, 2026 Emilia-Romagna WorldSBK, grid. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
08:56
Bulega's title chance
Nicolo Bulega has his second shot at winning the 2026 WorldSBK title this weekend. His first chance in Magny-Cours was effectively impossible as he needed to out-score Iker Leucona by 33 points, something he hasn't done since Phillip Island.
This weekend the Italian needs to not be out-scored by Lecuona by 23 points or more over the weekend. He's been the top scorer at every round so far, so the odds are firmly in Bulega's favour.
He said yesterday that he won't change his approach to the weekend despite the title chance, meaning he will be looking to add to the 26 victories he has amassed already this year.
Full story here.
Nicolo Bulega, 2026 French WorldSBK, podium. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
08:51
Welcome to live coverage of today's WorldSBK action from Cremona in Italy, where FP1 will be getting underway in around half-an-hour at 10:20 local time.