FIRST LOOK: 2026 WorldSBK riders on track at Phillip Island
A selection of pictures from the start of official WorldSBK testing at Phillip Island.
After a winter blighted by bad weather, bright sunshine greeted the 2026 WorldSBK field for the start of the final pre-season test at Phillip Island on Monday morning.
Reigning title runner-up and 2026 favourite Nicolo Bulega dominated the opening two-hour session, finishing almost half-a-second clear of the field:
Axel Bassani was the leading non-Ducati rider in third place for Bimota during FP1:
Lorenzo Baldassarri completed an all-Italian top four on his Goeleven Ducati:
Garrett Gerloff took the lone Kawasaki in the full-time field to fifth place:
Alex Lowes was closest to Bulega early on before finishing FP1 in sixth:
Alvaro Bautista in his 2026 Barni Spark Ducati colours - the former champion was seventh in FP1, while team-mate Yari Montella was second.
Sam Lowes briefly brought out red flags due to a technical issue on his way to ninth for the Elf Marc VDS team.
Former MotoGP star Miguel Oliveira was the top rookie in tenth, during his track debut in full BMW colours.
Rookie rival and former Moto2 title contender Jake Dixon was a fraction behind Oliveira for Honda HRC.
Former HRC rider and new factory Ducati signing Iker Lecuona was 12th in FP1.
Danilo Petrucci, who joins Oliveira at Toprak Razgatlioglu's title-winning BMW team, began the final test with 19th out of the 22 riders in FP1.
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