The Tissot Superpole session at the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship marked a significant milestone as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) secured pole position, achieving Ducati’s 200th pole in the Championship. He finished 0.419 seconds ahead of his competitors, the most substantial pole margin at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit since Troy Bayliss’ 0.518s margin in 2008, leading a Ducati front-row sweep. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) will be making his first front-row start in WorldSBK, joined by Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in the front row during the Australian Round.
THE INITIAL RUN: Bulega Sets the Pace, Oliveira Crashes
Bulega set an early pace of 1’28.610s, securing provisional pole with Montella and Sam Lowes rounding out the top three. The session faced interruption when Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) crashed at Turn 2 during his first flying lap. Though he managed to return to the pits for repairs, Oliveira couldn’t rejoin the track and did not record a lap time.
BULEGA REPEATS BAYLISS: Third Consecutive Pole at Phillip Island
Heading into the second runs, Bulega had a 0.266s advantage over Montella and pushed it further to clock a solid 1’29.392s, solidifying his lead. Being one of the first out for his second run, he improved again to 1’28.244s, marking his third consecutive pole at the venue—the first to achieve this since Troy Bayliss from 2006 to 2008. Montella continued his impressive performance, finishing second, 0.419s behind Bulega, and earning a front-row start. Sam Lowes completed the front row with a time of 1’28.729s.
BIMOTA SHOWCASESPEED, PETRUCCI IMPROVES: The Second Row
Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) ended up fourth with a time of 1’28.943s, just 0.699s off the pole. Both Bimota riders lined up closely, with Axel Bassani in fifth at 0.029s behind. Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who has been adjusting to the BMW M 1000 RR, clinched a second-row start with P6 after posting a 1’29.049s.
BALDASSARRI IMPRESSES: P7 After Following Bulega
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) achieved his first top-ten Superpole result in WorldSBK by finishing seventh with a lap time of 1’29.191s, set while shadowing Bulega. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) secured eighth, being the last rider within a second of Bulega, followed by Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) as the leading Yamaha in ninth, with rookie Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) rounding out the top ten.
CHALLENGES AHEAD: Bautista P12, Lecuona P13, Locatelli P15
Several riders will feel they are not positioned optimally, notably Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team), a past pole sitter at Phillip Island, who will start from 12th. He is closely followed by Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) in 13th, while Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha), usually a top performer here, finds himself in 15th place on the grid.
The top six results from the WorldSBK Superpole are summarized below:
- 1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’28.244s
- 2. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.419s
- 3. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.485s
- 4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.699s
- 5. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.728s
- 6. Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.805s
The first race of the 2026 season is coming up next! Catch all the action starting at 13:00 Local Time (UTC+11) via the WorldSBK VideoPass!
