Race 1 of the 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit got off to a commanding start, with yet another dominant performance from the Aruba.It Racing Ducati rider of Nicolò Bulega, who converted pole position into yet another dominant victory.
Although it was not Bulega’s cleanest launch from the line, he was able to hold the advantage into Turn 4 on the opening lap. The Bimota’s of both Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani both made strong starts, with Alex surging into third while his twin brother Sam Lowes slotted into fourth. Yari Montella tucked into second behind Bulega, while Axel Bassani completed the top five.
From the outset, Bulega wasted no time asserting control. By Lap 2, he had already begun to stretch a gap, and as the race settled he built a 1.4-second advantage over Montella, who in turn started to edge away from the group fighting for the final podium place. Behind them, a tight battle developed between Lorenzo Baldassarri and Alex Lowes, with Bassani lurking close by.
The race claimed its first crash on Lap 2 when Alvaro Bautista crashed at the high-speed Turn 11, ending his afternoon early. Later, on Lap 18, Xavi Vierge suffered a heavy crash at the exit of Turn 3, bringing a disappointing end to his Race 1 with Pata Maxus Yamaha.
There was also a penalty handed to Bassani, who was dropped one position for irresponsible riding at Turn 4, adding another twist to the fight for third.
Further back, Miguel Oliveira delivered one of the standout rides of the afternoon. After crashing on his first flying lap in Superpole and starting from the rear of the grid, the Portuguese rider carved his way forward, climbing all the way to 8th position. But, despite his valiant efforts in the in the 22 lap race, Oliveira will again have to start tomorrow’s sprint race from the rear of the grid.
For Australia’s Remy Gardner, the race ended in disappointment as he came to an early retirement pulling into the pits, concluding a challenging opening round so far.
After the race, Bulega reflected on his performance:
“I had to stay very focused because I knew that I had a very good pace, but during the race anything can happen, especially during Phillip Island. The conditions can change in 10 minutes. I saw during the day and also in testing that when the track was changing, I needed to adapt my style. When I started this race, I was quite sure to be fast, but you are never 100% sure. I had to stay very focused and keep my pace and try to save the tyre until the end because here we don’t make the pit stop, but we still have to save the tyre a lot and be very precise with our riding style.”
With a commanding victory and Ducati locking out the podium, Bulega leaves Race 1 with maximum momentum as the 2026 championship fight officially begins.
