WorldSBK riders reflect on opening day at Phillip Island

WorldSBK 2026

Round One – Phillip Island – Friday

Nicolò Bulega – P1

“I am very satisfied, especially with how things went this morning: the feeling with my Panigale V4 R was really good. In the afternoon, I didn’t have the same feeling, probably because the asphalt was hotter. In any case, it was an extremely positive day.”

Nicolo Bulega – Image RbMotoLens

Alex Lowes – P2

“We made a small change to the bike in the second session, and it was maybe not in the right direction. It was the first run with the new tyre we have in our weekend allocation, so I wanted to do lots of laps to understand it. It felt quite good and strong. I do feel good on the bike, and quite comfortable. I am looking forward to the first race on Saturday. I don’t think I will be in Bulega’s race, but after him there are maybe five guys with similar speed.”

Alex Lowes – Image RbMotoLens

Axel Bassani – P4

“Friday has been quite a good day, and we always worked in a good way. In FP1 the feeling was not the same that I had in the tests a few days ago – but in FP2 we made some small changes and the feeling came back. We also did a lot of runs and the pace has been consistent, but we are missing some tenths, I think. We will work even more for tomorrow and find a little more pace, then we will see how things are. We worked on both the front and rear of the bike, but in general we did not make big changes, even during the official tests, because the base is quite good.”

Axel Bassani

Álvaro Bautista – P5

“It was a day of continuous work. After analysing the test references, we made some adjustments to the bike to improve my feeling and the setup. We found solutions that allowed me to ride better and feel more comfortable on the bike, but I don’t think I’m yet at the level I’d like and I still don’t feel completely at ease. We need to keep working: we collected data, tested the Pirelli evolution tyre, and compared it with the standard compound, and now we have more information to make the best choice for the race.”

Alvaro Bautista – Image RbMotoLens

Lorenzo Baldassarri – P6

“Today was a great day for us. We confirmed the speed of the test, completing our whole work program without problems. We improved every session, step by step. I think we have the right speed, especially in the race. I worked a lot on used tyres and I want to try to fight for the top positions. Now, however, we have to stay focused. We’re all very close, and qualifying will be very tight. Tonight I’ll try to understand the last things from the data, then I can’t wait to close my visor for Race 1!”

Lorenzo Baldassarri – Image RbMotoLens

Yari Montella – P7

“We focused on the long run with the race in mind. We had a new tyre to test, and our goal was to understand its potential over race distance. This afternoon we did a long run of about 19 laps, and the feeling was positive: I managed to stay consistent throughout the session. There are still a few areas of the track to improve on, but we’re working on them. We’re ready for the first qualifying of the year and tomorrow’s race.”

Yari Montella – Image RbMotoLens

Iker Lecuona – P8

“We worked very well, managing to improve lap after lap. I feel I’m starting to recognise the limit, and this is very important for making significant progress. Things went very well in the afternoon, and I managed to gain 3-tenths of a second compared to FP1. There is a lot of confidence: we are on the right track.”

Garrett Gerloff – P9

“I am pretty happy with how things went today, finishing the morning’s FP1 session in the top seven. I think that is my best FP1 performance here. To finish inside the top ten at the end of day one is better than I have done here in most previous years. I still want to be closer to the top five but, in general, I am happy. I am really happy with all the work that the team is doing and the setting changes that we are making. I feel confident for tomorrow and Race One, we just need to put everything together and have a good day.”

Garrett Gerloff – Image RbMotoLens

Xavi Vierge – P11

“It has been a solid start – we’ve been working on the fine tuning for my R1 WorldSBK set-up. We found something that helped me a little bit to keep a good pace and we won quite a lot of confidence with the rear of the bike, so this is very important. We know where we need to improve as well and we worked hard this afternoon to try to find the few tenths of a second that we are missing, because everything is super tight in the middle of the field. With two-tenths, we can be in the first or second row. The small details matter and I think we are working in the right direction.”

Andrea Locatelli – P15

“Day One at Phillip Island is done! The goal was to try to get the feeling more and more as I need, after the difficult test. The conditions were a bit different with respect to testing, but we are also trying to improve my feeling on the bike. I am more comfortable now, we are still missing something but I want to keep positive vibes to try to be faster tomorrow and to keep building for this first race weekend. We will work tonight, stay positive and cross the fingers a bit that we can make a good step forward and as always, fight until the end.”

Tetsuta Nagashima – P17

“Overall, the first day here at Phillip Island has been positive. The conditions were good, similar to what we had during the test earlier this week, and I was able to improve my lap time compared to those sessions, which is encouraging. My feeling with the bike is improving step by step, including on the electronics side. I’m understanding more about the package every time I go out, and that’s very important from a development point of view. Being on track together with the other riders also helps, because it allows me to better evaluate certain aspects and compare different situations. I’m not pushing like crazy — I’m focusing on feeling everything: the bike, the electronics, how it reacts. Then we make changes and try to improve gradually. I think we are working in a good direction. Tomorrow I will try and put the tester role slightly aside and try to ride a bit more like a regular race rider, pushing a little more to see what we can achieve. At the same time, I will continue collecting data for the future.”

Stefano Manzi – P18

“Finally, we’re back racing for real! It was a solid day, and it’s always great to ride here at Phillip Island, especially with such nice weather. We know there’s still a lot of work to do, but this afternoon we were able to take a good step forward. That gives us confidence to keep improving, and I can’t wait for the first race.”

Remy Gardner – P19

“To be honest, it was a challenging day, but it’s always nice to be back racing, especially here at such a special place. Overall, the feeling is different compared to the test, maybe because of the new tyre, but we’ll keep working hard to improve. We’ll do our best tomorrow and I’m confident we can take a step forward.”

Remy Gardner – Image RbMotoLens

WorldSBK Combined FP1/FP2 Results

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