Nicolo Bulega “did a lot of damage” with crash in Czech WorldSBK FP2

Nicolo Bulega remains confident of maintaining his unbeaten run in 2026, although he’ll need to bounce back following a damaging crash at the Czech WorldSBK.

Bulega started the day in fine form as he was unchallenged for large parts of FP1, before ending the session more than two tenths clear of fellow Ducati riders Sam Lowes and team-mate Iker Lecuona. 

The championship leader was just as strong when FP2 got underway, as he led the early running before a crash at turn one.

Bulega’s bike was immediately retrieved, although various bits of debris could be seen in the gravel trap. Bulega suffered no damage during the crash, but after riding back to pit lane, Bulega cut a frustrated figure as he watched on. 

However, Bulega’s Panigale V4 R was unable to be repaired in time for the Italian to complete any more laps, meaning Bulega is on the back foot compared to his rivals, most of which are other Ducati riders.

That said, Bulega remains confident of challenging for a 13th consecutive win of the season.

Speaking to WorldSBK.com, Bulega said: “It wasn’t so bad, honestly! In the morning, it wasn’t fantastic, but I had a better feeling with the bike. 

“I started FP2 in a good way and I was improving. Unfortunately, I had a small crash, but I did a lot of damage to the bike. 

“I had to stop and I did only six or seven laps during FP2. Not a lot of work but I think we have enough data for tomorrow. I was just pushing hard to find the limit in some areas. 

“Turns six and seven is an area where I struggle a little bit to stop the bike. Like I said, we have good data for tomorrow and we have to improve.”

Despite his early fall in FP2, Bulega was only beaten by Kawasaki’s Garrett Gerloff, who went for a late time attack and set a time of 1m30.791, which was just over half a tenth quicker than Bulega’s time.