A title is built lap by lap, race by race, when everything goes well and when it doesn’t. That’s why Nicolo Bulega’s weekend in Australia means nothing more than the irrefutable fact that he has been intractable. From the first free practice to the last lap of the race he has shown that the only thing worth winning is for him, and also that he is going to make it very difficult for the rest. Of course, we are still in the good part, where everything is easy and there is still a long way to go.
Race 1 Superbike Australia 2026: Fulfilling the forecast
After taking Superpole, Bulega’s third consecutive victory at Phillip Island, the Italian started the first race solidly, without losing the lead for a single moment and beginning to make what everyone expected a reality: victory.
No matter how much Yari Montella, Alex Lowes and Lorenzo Baldassarri tried, the official Ducati rider began to get in the way, so the question was who would be the two podium members who would accompany Nicolo in the first race.
The battle was resolved in favor of Yari Montella, who has taken a big step forward at the start of the year, and with Baldassarri withstanding the push of another of the great revelations of the Australian round, the Bimota driver Axel Bassani. Finally 36 thousandths separated both.
Sam Lowes finished in fifth position, unlucky from the Italian duo but also with a big advantage over Iker Lecuona, who continues to catch the pulse of the Panigale. Alex Lowes, after fighting for the top 5, had to settle for seventh place. Miguel Ángel Oliveira ended his debut with, a priori, a discreet eighth position. But behind that place there was a comeback, which took the Portuguese from the last place on the grid after crashing in Superpole.
The top 10 was completed by Surra and Petrucci while Álvaro Bautista and Xavi Vierge crashed, in the case of Vierge in a spectacular way although fortunately without consequences.
Superpole Race Australia 2026: Bulega wins in time trial mode
After Saturday’s display, Bulega was expected to have no rival on Sunday. But in races nothing is written and in the worst race to make a mistake on the first lap has happened. The Italian went wide and fell to fourth position while Montella took the lead. The joy, however, did not last long because when Bulega started to shoot, no one could stop him.
Even a light rain that fell and which was a harbinger of the second race of the day, has not made Nicolo conservative. Thus a new victory has been forged with Axel Bassani taking the Bimota to the podium ahead of Alex Lowes, also with Bimota. Montella finally finished fourth with Sam Lowes fifth, Gerloff sixth, Bautista seventh, Baldasarri eighth and Lecuona ninth.
Race 2 Superbike Australia 2026: Water, Bulega and Bautista protagonists
After threatening light rain in the Superpole Race, water was the protagonist in the second race at Phillip Island. The Australian track, where it is common to see this type of situation, has been a new challenge for the WSBK drivers and, although it may not seem like it, also for Bulega.
The Ducati rider dominated the race with an iron fist and gradually increased his lead until he finished more than 11 seconds behind Axel Bassani, who achieved his second podium of the weekend. Even further behind the Italian duo, Álvaro Bautista has crossed the finish line, who has been able to take advantage of the conditions, has not made the mistakes that others have and already has the first podium of a season, which seems complicated a priori.
Off the podium, more than 10 seconds behind Bautista, but with a great performance we also found Tarran Mackezie, who finished fourth ahead of Andrea Locatelli, who in these conditions was able to get closer to the front positions in a weekend to forget about Yamaha.
The BMW duo Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Ángel Oliveira were sixth and seventh respectively, with Oliveira coming back from the back of the grid for the third time this weekend, after his BMW failed in the Superpole Race when he was running in the positions that would have allowed him to start ninth.
Lecuona fought for a better place, but finally crossed the finish line eighth just ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri and with Garrett Gerloff completing the top 10. In a race with quite a few crashes: the Lowes brothers, Montella, Vickers and Rato, Xavi Vierge has not been able to finish either and leaves Australia without being able to score a point.
