The 2026 Phillip Island WorldSBK Test: Day 1 - LIVE UPDATES
02:43
Iker Lecuona's flag-to-flag pit stop during FP1: The Aruba.it Ducati rider practices a flag-to-flag pit stop during the first practice session, as the weather remains sunny at Phillip Island.
02:22
Incidents during FP1: Honda rookie Jake Dixon ran through the gravel early at Turn 2, Stefan Manzi crashed at Turn 6, and Ryan Vickers also took to the gravel just before the halfway stage. There were brief red flags for birds on the track and a technical issue for Sam Lowes, before Tarran Mackenzie crashed at Turn 10 at the end of the session.
We'll be back for Free Practice 2 from 15:40-17:40.
02:17
Full Results: End of Free Practice 1
02:13
Bulega's consistent performance: Bulega delivers his best lap at the very end of the session, finishing with a 0.470s advantage over fellow Ducati rider Yari Montella, and Axel Bassani completes the top three.
02:11
All-Italian top four: Lorenzo Baldassarri puts his Goeleven Ducati into 4th place in the closing minutes of FP1, behind Bulega, Montella, and Bassani, resulting in an all-Italian top four.
02:08
Montella joins Bulega in the 29s: Montella sets a time of 1m 29.921s, only 0.265s behind Bulega, with the Italian Ducati rider leading the way.
02:06
Sam Lowes' performance: Sam Lowes nearly matches his best lap time of the day, remaining in 8th on the Marc VDS Ducati, while Bulega and Montella set hot sectors.
02:03
Final 10 minutes of FP1: Riders like Lorenzo Baldassarri and Iker Lecuona set personal best sectors in the final 10 minutes of the session.
02:01
Rookie watch: Jake Dixon remains the top rookie in 9th for Honda, with Miguel Oliveira in 12th for BMW, Alberto Surra in 13th for Ducati, Stefano Manzi in 16th, and Mattia Rato in 22nd.
01:54
Bulega's dominance: Bulega continues to dominate, with new team-mate Iker Lecuona making steady progress, moving up to 11th place, +1.239s from the Italian.
01:52
Bulega's response: Bulega responds to Montella's move by setting his best lap of the morning so far, with 17 minutes remaining in the session.
01:51
Montella and Bassani's battle: Garrett Gerloff is demoted to 4th after Axel Bassani and Yari Montella take over second place, but they are still in the 1m 30s, over 0.4s behind Bulega.
01:49
Top ten composition: The top ten now contains 5 Ducatis, 2 Bimotas, 1 Kawasaki, 1 Honda, and 1 Yamaha.
01:38
Kawasaki in second: Garrett Gerloff puts his Kawasaki into second, as Bulega's nearest rival, with 30 minutes of Free Practice 1 remaining.
01:37
Brief red flag: There was a brief red flag due to a technical issue for Sam Lowes at Turn 2, but testing has already resumed.
01:31
Bautista's progress: Alex Lowes and new Yamaha rider Xavi Vierge are split by Bautista, who has made progress from sixth to third, with a time of +0.665s from former team-mate Bulega.
01:30
Jake Dixon's rise: Jake Dixon rises up the order to 9th with a 1m 30.655s lap, within one second of Bulega and ahead of the next-best Honda of temporary team-mate Tetsuta Nagashima.
01:21
End of hour 1: Halfway through the opening WorldSBK session, the order is:
- Bulega
- A. Lowes
- Vierge
- Bassani
- Montella
- Bautista
- S. Lowes
- Gerloff
- Baldassarri
- Oliveira
- Lecuona
- Mackenzie
- Sofuoglu
- Manzi
- Petrucci
- Dixon
- Vickers
- Locatelli
- Surra
- Gardner
- Nagashima
- Rato
00:56
Ducati fastest on the straight: Montella, Bautista, and Lecuona have set the fastest speeds so far at 319km/h, with Bulega just one behind on 318km/h. The fastest Bimota is Alex Lowes on 316km/h, matched by Petrucci's BMW. Garrett Gerloff has set a 315km/h for Kawasaki, followed by Yamaha on 314km/h and Honda on 312km/h.
00:52
Bulega breaks away: Bulega continues to stamp his authority, now 0.6s clear of nearest rival Alex Lowes.
00:42
Fastest for each brand: Miguel Oliveira moves into 7th place with a 1m 30s lap. These are the fastest riders for each brand after the opening half hour of testing:
- Nicolo Bulega, Ducati, 1m 29.844s.
- Alex Lowes, Bimota, 1m 30.286s.
- Miguel Oliveira, BMW, 1m 30.945s.
- Xavi Vierge, Yamaha, 1m 31.129s.
- Garrett Gerloff, Kawasaki, 1m 31.258s.
- Jake Dixon, Honda, 1m 31.618s.
00:38
Miguel Oliveira in 2026 BMW WorldSBK colours: MotoGP race winner Miguel Oliveira in his full 2026 BMW livery.
00:36
Nicolo Bulega's lap count: Nicolo Bulega may have been one of the last on track, but he's completed more laps than any other rider so far (11).
00:34
Jake Dixon's philosophy: Jake Dixon, the former BSB title runner-up and Moto2 race winner, shares his thoughts on taking risks in WorldSBK: "Knowing when to take risks... rather than trying to be a hero."
00:30
End of hour 1: The session concludes with Bulega in the lead, followed by Lowes, Vierge, Bassani, and Montella.
