The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship kicked off the 2026 season down under at the Phillip Island Circuit last Friday and put on action that thrilled motorsport fans.
WorldSBK
Friday’s WorldSBK sessions kicked off with Free Practice in which Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) set the pace and clocked best time towards the final minutes of the session leading the field by just over half-a-second.
The Italian’s lead continued across the remaining two Free Practice sessions.
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) tailed closely in Free Practice 1. Both respectively slotting into second and third on the time sheets.
Free Practice 2 saw Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Bassani round out the top three, along with Sam Lowes and Bassani in Free Practice 3 on Saturday morning.
Bulega’s strong form did not falter as the weekend ticked on, with the factory Ducati rider claiming top spot in the Tissot Superpole – the first to do so at Phillip Island since Troy Bayliss.
Setting the speed early, Bulega secured a provisional pole position (1’28.610) before out-doing himself further into the session with a 1’28.244s.
Impressively taking out second place in the Superpole, was Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team). After a difficult 2025 campaign, the 26-year-old’s hard work paid off, who slotted into the time sheets just four-tenths behind Bulega.
Sam Lowes followed on in third.
WorldSBK new-comer, Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) unfortunately had a tough start, crashing out at Turn 2 on his first lap resulting in failure to set a lap time, relegating him to last on the grid for the afternoon’s upcoming Race 1.
Home hero Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) worked hard, however didn’t break the top 10 and slotted into 14th in the Superpole and on the starting grid.
In Race 1, Bulega’s victory streak continued, claiming victory and bagging the first lot of 25 points in the Championship’s season. Montella took out second place and claimed his maiden podium, alongside Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team Goeleven) who also stood on the WorldSBK podium for the first time.
With the first lot of Championship points locked-and-loaded, focus shifted to Sunday’s sessions.
Sam Lowes toppled Bulega’s timesheet-topping-streak in the Warm-Up, relegating the Italian into second spot, alongside Alex Lowes in third.
Bulega however, didn’t stand for anything less than first place in the Superpole Race. Despite struggling to maintain form at the start with Montella getting the holeshot and leading the field, Bulega climbed up the pack into the lead on Lap 4.
Second and third place were taken out by both Bimota pilots, Bassani and Alex Lowes, for the team’s first double podium since 1988 in Estoril.
Race 2 sealed-the-deal for Bulega, repeating his 2025 Phillip Island form and taking a hat-trick in the afternoon’s wet race.
Bassani took out second place, alongside Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) in third.
Finishing up the opening round, Bulega leads the championship standings with 62 points heading into Round 2 to be held at Portugal in a few weeks. Bassani holds 42 and Montella with 26 to round out the top three.
Despite a tough weekend for home hero, Gardner, the Aussie sits in sixteenth place in the Championship standings.
WorldSSP
The first WorldSSP sessions of the 2026 season got underway on Friday morning, in which Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) took timing honours in Free Practice with a 1’32.115s, just over one-tenth quicker than our very own Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing), who pushed for a stellar second place on the charts and set himself up with strong pace across the round.
Valentin Debise (ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) slotted into third on the timesheets.
Bayliss scored his maiden podium in the category during Race 1 on Saturday afternoon, in which the Aussie took out third place, behind Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) in second and Juame Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) in a victorious first place.
Race 2 saw the first splashes of rain hit the tarmac at lights out. Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) took out his first WorldSSP win, alongside Aldi Mahendra (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) and Matteo Ferrari (WRP Racing).
Bayliss worked hard and set the fastest lap of the race with a 1’32.452s and just managed to fall out of the top 10 by the end of the race, slotting into 12th place.
As the curtain draws on the first round of the season, Arenas leads the riders championship with 38 points, Masia with 31, along with Ferrari with 26 to round out the top three.
Bayliss sits in seventh place, with 20 points.
Round 2 of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship gets underway in Portugal this March 27 – 29. Stay up to date with the championship at www.worldsbk.com
