Nicolo Bulega Tops WDW 2026 Qualifying

Nicolo Bulega was fastest in World Ducati Week 2026 qualifying for the Lenovo Race of Champions, putting himself at the top of the session.

Bulega led the qualifying order ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri and Francesco Bagnaia. The result gave the Race of Champions an important competitive angle, with the front group not limited to MotoGP riders but also including strong Superbike names.

Yari Montella placed fourth, followed by Alberto Surra in fifth. That top-five composition underlined the cross-category nature of the contest, with Bagnaia standing as the leading MotoGP representative inside the first three behind Bulega and Baldassarri.

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Franco Morbidelli was sixth, directly ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio. Both riders remain inside the chasing group, but their starting positions will require a strong launch and careful risk management in the race.

Behind them, Tommy Bridewell finished eighth, followed by Michele Pirro and Hafizh Syahrin to complete the top 10. Alvaro Bautista took 11th, while Marc Marquez was 12th in the qualifying classification.

The remaining positions were filled by Tarran Mackenzie, Lukas Tulovic, PJ Jacobsen and Josh Waters. With the revised WDW 2026 format featuring qualifying on Saturday before warm-up and the official race on Sunday, grid position is set to play an important role in shaping the Race of Champions.

Bulega's qualifying advantage puts early pressure on his main rivals heading into the race at Misano. However, with Bagnaia, Morbidelli, Di Giannantonio and Marquez in the chasing pack, the Race of Champions could still change significantly from the start and opening laps.