Recapping the WorldSBK/SSP action from Friday at Phillip Island

WorldSBK 2026

Round One – Phillip Island – Friday

The sun continued to shine over the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit as the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship returned to the track for Friday afternoon’s Free Practice 2 session.

With the light turning green at 4pm, riders headed out for the second 45-minute session of the day under soaring track temperatures that peaked at 44.7 degrees, creating challenging grip conditions around the fast and flowing Australian circuit.

Wildlife caused another brief red flag stoppage – Image RbMotoLens

The session was briefly interrupted in true Phillip Island fashion, with a red flag caused by a wallaby making its way across the track. Wildlife-related stoppages have become part of the Island’s character, and this one added an unexpected pause.

When the action resumed, long runs and consistency proved to be the priority for much of the field. As has been the case since the start of the Official Test earlier in the week, the same core group remained at the sharp end. Nicolò Bulega once again set the benchmark, continuing his flawless run by topping every session so far. His best lap of 1’29.101 secured P1 and underlined his dominance heading into the opening round of the 12-round championship.

Nicolo Bulega – Image RbMotoLens

Behind him, Alex Lowes emerged as the closest challenger, posting a 1’29.354 to claim second fastest. However, the Brit suffered a late crash at the Turn 4 hairpin. Fortunately, it was a low-speed fall and he was able to walk away unharmed, even remounting before ultimately returning to pit lane and ending his session early. His teammate Axel Bassani completed a strong afternoon for bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team in third with a 1’29.468.

Alex Lowes – Image RbMotoLens

The session was not without further drama. Earlier, a yellow flag at Turn 1 followed a high-speed crash for Sam Lowes. The #14 had been running consistently inside the top four before the incident. Like his brother, he was quickly back on his feet, but the yellow flags resulted in several cancelled laps during a critical stage of the session. Lowes ultimately finished sixth with a 1’29.558.

Alvaro Bautista showed late-session improvement aboard the Barni Spark Racing Ducati. After appearing to struggle for outright pace earlier in the day, the Spaniard produced his best lap in the final minutes to climb to fourth, just 0.381 seconds off Bulega’s time. Meanwhile, Lorenzo Baldassarri continued to impress as a leading Independent rider, placing fifth and reinforcing his strong form this weekend.

For Iker Lecuona, progress remains steady as he builds confidence on the factory Ducati package after limited seat time during the European winter. Phillip Island marks his first meaningful dry running on the machine, and each session has shown incremental gains.

Garrett Gerloff briefly pushed into the top five midway through the session on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR before being displaced, highlighting the close margins throughout the field, ultimately finishing out the session inside the Top 10.

With Bulega fastest in every session so far this week and race pace appearing to be the central focus in FP2, the Italian continues to look like the rider to beat as the Australian Round gathers momentum.

WorldSBK Combined FP1/FP2 Results

WorldSSP

Superpole for the Supersport World Championship delivered high drama at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, with late-session crashes, cancelled laps due to yellow flags, and a fierce fight for pole position setting the grid for Race 1 at the season-opening Australian Round.

In World Supersport, Superpole sets the grid for Race 1 only, with Race 2’s grid formed from the top nine finishers in Race 1, meaning Friday’s result is particularly crucial for riders outside the top positions looking to secure track position early.

Among the fresh faces this weekend is Mattia Casadei, last year’s MotoE runner-up, who embarks on his first full World Supersport campaign after previous wildcard appearances. Also making his championship debut in the class is Oliver Konig, whose session got off to a difficult start as he became the first crasher of Superpole, going down on the exit of Turn 11. With yellow flags deployed, multiple riders had laps cancelled in the early stages.

At the halfway mark, it was the PTR Triumph pairing of Oli Bayliss and Tom Booth-Amos lighting up the timesheets. The Triumph Street Triple 765 RS machines surged into a provisional 1-2 with 25 minutes remaining, separated by just 0.007 seconds, Booth-Amos narrowly edging his Australian teammate in what was shaping up to be a breakthrough session for the squad.

Oli Bayliss – Image RbMotoLens

As the clock ticked down to 20 minutes remaining, pit lane burst into life with the majority of the field heading out for their second and decisive runs. Track temperature had climbed to 46 degrees, around 13 degrees hotter than the morning Free Practice session, creating a new challenge for tyre management.

On the first flying lap of his second stint, Oli Bayliss delivered an immediate response, jumping to provisional pole with 15 minutes remaining, leaving Australians on the edge of their seat.

Moments later, drama struck again as Booth-Amos suffered a heavy crash at Turn 11. Although the Brit was quickly on his feet, the red flag was deployed to allow for track clean-up, temporarily halting proceedings and resetting the tension for a final dash to the chequered flag.

In the closing stages, it was Jaume Masia who delivered the decisive blow. On his first flying lap after the restart, the Spaniard lowered the benchmark to a 1’32.115, demoting Bayliss to second and forcing the Australian to find three tenths of a second. Bayliss improved on his final attempt but ultimately fell short by 0.172 seconds, unable to reclaim the top spot.

No rider was able to challenge the front row in the final minutes, securing a front row start for Bayliss at his home round, a significant achievement for the 22-year-old as he prepares for Saturday’s Race 1. Valentin Debise completed the top three with a 1’32.439, rounding out an intense and unpredictable Superpole session at Phillip Island.

WorldSSP Tissot Superpole

2026 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship calendar

……Date…….	Country	Circuit	WorldSBK	WorldSSP	WorldSPB
20-22 Feb	AUS	Phillip Island GP	X	X
27-29 Mar	POR	Algarve Int’l	X	X	X
17-19 Apr	NED	TT Assen	X	X	X
1-3 May	HUN	Balaton Park	X	X
15-17 May	CZE	Most	X	X	X
29-31 May	ESP	MotorLand Aragon	X	X	X
12-14 Jun	ITA	Misano – Marco Simoncelli	X	X	X
10-12 Jul	UK	Donington Park	X	X
4-6 Sep	FRA	Nevers Magny-Cours	X	X	X
25-27 Sep	ITA	Cremona	X	X	X
9-11 Oct	POR	Estoril	X	X
16-18 Oct	ESP	Jerez – Angel Nieto*	X	X	X

2026 World Superbike Championship Entry List

Rider	Bike	Team
I.Lecuona	Duc	Aruba.It Ducati
N.Bulega	Duc	Aruba.It Ducati
D.Petrucci	BMW	ROKiT BMW Motorrad
M.Oliveira	BMW	ROKiT BMW Motorrad
A.Locatelli	Yam	Pata Maxus Yamaha
X.Vierge	Yam	Pata Maxus Yamaha
Y.Montella	Duc	Barni Spark
A.Bautista	Duc	Barni Spark
A.Lowes	Bim	bimota by Kawasaki
A.Bassani	Bim	bimota by Kawasaki
S.Chantra	Hon	Honda HRC
J.Dixon	Hon	Honda HRC
S.Manzi	Yam	GYTR GRT Yamaha
R.Gardner	Yam	GYTR GRT Yamaha
S.Lowes	Duc	ELF Marc VDS
L.Baldassarri	Duc	Goeleven
T.Mackenzie	Duc	MGM Racing
G.Gerloff	Kaw	Kawasaki WorldSBK
A.Surra	Duc	Motocorsa
M.Rato	Yam	Motoxracing
B.Sofuoglu	Yam	Motoxracing
A.Iannone	Duc	Cainam Racing