The 2026 season of the Superbike World Championship kicked off down under at the Phillip Island Circuit with the Australian Round. In the absence of Toprak Razgatlioglu, there was already a clear pre-season title favourite…
Race 1
From pole position, all Nicolo Bulega had to do after dominating the weekend so far was make it through the first lap unscathed. He did just that and won comfortably by 5 seconds.
Similarly unbothered in Race 1 was Yari Montella who claimed his first front-row start and ran comfortably to his best finish in 2nd place. His new teammate Alvaro Bautista was not so fortunate, becoming the first rider of 2026 to crash out of a race in the early stages.
Lorenzo Baldassari made a remarkable return to WorldSBK, forcing his way through to 3rd and just holding on to it ahead of Axel Bassani in a thrilling sprint to the finish line. The two other podium contenders were the Lowes’ brothers, but Alex fell back in the closing stages to 7th behind his brother in 5th and a charging Iker Lecuona in 6th.
Running in 8th and by far the best Yamaha rider on his debut for the marque was Xavi Vierge who was sent to the medical centre after a terrifying crash at Stoner corner that strew gravel across the track just before Miller hairpin. Garrett Gerloff slipped up on the debris shortly after and reignited an intense battle for the lower top 10 positions.
Gerloff had been battling impressive rookie Alberto Surra with the pair running ahead of a rejuvenated Tarran Mackenzie. ‘Taz’ had enough pace to hold up Danilo Petrucci for several laps before Miguel Oliveria came through from the back of the grid (after a crash in Tissot Superpole) to clinch 8th at the flag.
Mackenzie slipped to 12th but was ahead of a despondent Andrea Locatelli – the top Yamaha finisher in 13th and ahead of the two stand-in Honda HRC riders rounding out the points. Despite the promise shown by Montella, Baldassari, Bassani and Oliveria, nothing could dispel the fact that Bulega was looking unbeatable after the opening race of 2026.
Race 1 Results
Tissot Superpole Race
For the first time ever, Montella led a WorldSBK race after snatching the lead at the start. Alex led his brother Sam with Bulega relegated to 4th, and his teammate Lecuona was also forced out wide at the beginning, while Vierge sadly never made the start.
Bulega was back in the lead by lap 4 after some aggressive moves past the top 3 and was unchallenged thereafter. Montella faded to 4th, with Bassani fighting through to 2nd ahead of his teammate Alex Lowes for a historic double Bimota podium.
Sam Lowes was 5th ahead of Gerloff and Bautista with Race 1 star Baldassari down in 8th. The Italian was fortunate to finish there after Oliveira’s phenomenal charge from the back of the grid fell short after suffering technical issues on the last lap so Lecuona took 9th – thus setting the grid for the first 3 rows of Race 2.
Tissot Superpole Race Results
Race 2
With the white flag being waved midway through the Tissot Superpole Race, rain always looked like a possibility. The soaking wet affair did nothing to faze Bulega who romped to another victory down under.
Montella and Bassani broke free of the chasing Lowes’ brothers before Sam went down on lap 8. Bautista settled in 4th as an impressive Mackenzie was impressively holding off Alex Lowes for 6th.
Locatelli was having a better Race 2 than his dire Race 1 and was on his own in 7th ahead of a tight battle for 8th between Lecuona and the BMW duo, with Oliveira having come through from the back of the grid for the third race in succession.
Montella tragically crashed out halfway through by which time Mattia Rato, Ryan Vickers and Vierge had also been eliminated from the wet affair. Alex Lowes slid out with a fast lowside crash with 4 laps to go so all 15 riders who finished the race scored championship points.
The retirements left big gaps for Bassani and Bautista to come home comfortably on the rostrum behind Bulega with Mackenzie scoring his best WorldSBK result in 4th, clearly enjoying his time aboard the satellite MGM Ducati. Locatelli narrowly held off a charging Petrucci for 5th, with Oliveria, Lecuona and Baldassari close behind.
Gerloff was alone in 10th and not quite as fast as he had been in dry conditions. Up front, Bulega employed a swimming celebration to symbolise his treble victory around Phillip Island that has absolutely lived up to his reputation as the overwhelming 2026 title favourite.
Race 2 Results
Championship Standings
Feature Image Credit: WorldSBK