Nicolo Bulega is the main candidate for the 2026 title and, also, to fight for the three victories in Australia next weekend. And it is because last year he finished second overall, because at Phillip Island he achieved a brilliant triplet and because in the tests that are being carried out on the Australian track, he has started leading with authority.
Bulega took his Ducati to first position in both sessions, riding with solvency while working on finishing the set-up of his Panigale V4R, and gaining a significant advantage over the rest. Specifically, 291 thousandths over Axel Bassani, who has also been fast with a Bimota that arrives in very different conditions than a year ago.
Lowes finished after Axel, but not Alex, his teammate, but Sam. The Briton with the Marc VDS Ducati has once again shown his speed, but also his weak point. And although he came third on this first day at Phillip Island, he crashed in the second session. There is no doubt that it is the great subject of a Sam, who can give war in the Australian event, but who always rolls on the knife’s edge.
Yari Montella was one of the few drivers who did not improve the morning time in the afternoon session, and even so he was able to be fourth and the last to lap in 1.29. Garrett Gerloff with the Kawasaki finished fifth with the renewed ZX-10RR. Bimota’s positive feelings are confirmed by Alex Lowes’ sixth place, which means that the Italian brand, under the tutelage of KRT, has placed its two riders in the top6 and mixed among all the Ducati.
Ducati continues to gain muscle on the first day of testing in Australia
Because Lorenzo Baldassarri finished seventh and Álvaro Bautista eighth, which means that the Borgo Panigale brand has put 5 bikes among the top 8 classified on this first day of testing, despite the fact that Iker Lecuona, Bulega’s teammate, has been left out of the top 10.
A top10 in which a Yamaha and a Honda have entered. The Yamaha has been that of Xavi Vierge, already one second behind Bulega’s time but closer to the rest, and Jake Dixon, who with the Honda seems to be going faster and faster.
It is striking, however, that no BMW has made it into this top 10 on the first day. Although there is still a long way to go and Phillip Island is a track where the M 1000 RR was not particularly competitive even in the hands of Razgatlioglu, it is still surprising to see Oliveira in eleventh position and Petrucci in fourteenth.
In any case, both Oliveira and Petrucci and the rest of the drivers will have time to continue improving during the rest of the tests before the first round of WSBK 2026 starts on Friday.
>>COMBINED CLASSIFICATION FP1+FP2 DAY 1 WSBK TEST AUSTRALIA 2026<<
