Jonathan Rea is standing in for Jake Dixon at HRC Honda this weekend at Assen, having also covered the Portimao round. The Northern Irish veteran has not cracked the top 15 all weekend, finishing 17th in FP3. His regular teammate Somkiat Chantra was also ruled out for Saturday after a painful FP3 crash left him with lower back and leg injuries. A tough weekend for the Honda garage.
Sam Lowes claimed his first podium of the 2026 WorldSBK season with third place in Race 1 at Assen, pulling level on championship points with twin brother Alex. Lowes had qualified on the front row, splitting the two factory Aruba Ducatis in Superpole. The Marc VDS rider has been knocking on the door all season. Assen finally delivered the result his pace deserved.
Nicolo Bulega extends his unbeaten WorldSBK start to seven consecutive wins after taking Race 1 at Assen. Teammate Iker Lecuona used a rain shower to catch and pass Bulega but eventually had to settle for a fourth successive runner up finish. Sam Lowes claimed his first podium of the season in third. Bulega now leads the championship by 61 points.
Nicolo Bulega topped FP1 at the TT Circuit Assen, the only man in the 1m33s as he led teammate Iker Lecuona by 0.256 seconds. Sam Lowes and Lorenzo Baldassarri completed an all-Ducati top four. Xavi Vierge was the first non-Ducati rider in fifth. Both BMW riders Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira crashed in the closing stages but walked away uninjured. Superpole is Saturday.
Nicolo Bulega may find it difficult to secure a Ducati MotoGP seat for 2027 despite testing the brand’s future 850cc prototype and showing strong form in World Superbike. Most Desmosedici seats are expected to remain occupied under current contracts, leaving limited opportunities for the Italian rider to move into MotoGP in the next rider market cycle.
Jonathan Rea returns to Assen this weekend for Honda HRC, again standing in for the recovering Jake Dixon at a circuit where he has 17 wins and 25 podiums in total. Dixon is targeting a return at the Hungarian Round in May, subject to medical clearance. Assen is the most successful circuit of Rea’s legendary WorldSBK career.
Bulega’s winning streak of ten consecutive races heading into Assen is the best start to a WorldSBK season since Alvaro Bautista won 11 in a row in 2019. With six wins from six races this season alone, Bulega is also on course to challenge some of the most significant records in WorldSBK history across the remaining ten rounds.
Nicolo Bulega’s manager Alberto Martinelli says it is not impossible for the WorldSBK championship leader to reach MotoGP without Ducati, warning the team will not wait indefinitely for an offer. As of Portimao, Bulega had no written offers on the table despite talks with multiple teams. All three Ducati backed MotoGP teams appear close to finalising line ups that leave no room for the Italian.
Bulega claimed his 11th WorldSBK pole position at Portimao, drawing level with Ben Spies. He also reached 26 career wins, drawing level with Doug Polen, with Chaz Davies next on 28. With six wins from six races and 10 on the bounce overall, Bulega is on course to challenge some of the most significant records in WorldSBK history across the remaining 10 rounds. Jonathan Rea’s all time marks are now in sight.
Jonathan Rea will make a second appearance in 2026 at the Dutch Round in Assen on 17 to 19 April, again standing in for Jake Dixon, whose return has been pushed back to the Hungarian Round in May. Rea has 17 wins at Assen and will be hoping the extra recovery time puts him in far better shape than Portimao.