“Many things” to change at Australian WorldSBK as key difference pointed out

The 2026 WorldSBK season begins this weekend at Phillip Island but one key difference from testing is set to change “many things”, Alex Lowes thinks.

Shipping delays in the week before the test meant that the tyre allocation for the test was not exactly the same as it will be for the race weekend on 20–22 February. Most notably, the rear compound used to set the headline times at the test will not be available during the race weekend.

Lowes expects that the difference in allocation between the test and the race will “change many things”; plus World Superbike will be running full-distance races without pit stops for the first time since 2023.

“We have some tyres arriving that we didn’t have for the test, so this can change many things,” Alex Lowes told WorldSBK.com. 

“My feeling with the bike is good and my target is to try to fight for the podium, obviously. 

“It’s going to be a little bit different this year with the full length race, the last [few] years we’ve done the pit stop race. 

“We’ve been working hard to look after the tyre, the race will start on maybe lap 15 and I think, apart from Bulega, between second and 10th place any of the guys can be on the podium. 

“It’s going to be a good race, it’s going to be a big fight, a big group, and hopefully I can use some of my experience to be in a good position at the end of the race.”

Steps forward: “My goals are quite high”

Both Lowes and his teammate Axel Bassani showed decent improvements compared to last year at the Phillip Island test earlier this week on 16–17 February.

Lowes said that this was down to work done not only during the winter but also throughout last year, and gives him a feeling good enough to push for a career-best season.

“I think we arrived last year, the first race with the Bimota was quite difficult because, already last year, the weather in Europe was not great for testing so we were a little bit behind and not really ready to start at Phillip Island,” Lowes said.

“But during the season last year we made some steps forward and I think this is clear when we arrived back here [after] 12 months. 

“I have to say well done to the guys, thank you for all the hard work because to see a good step is always nice and it’s not easy in our championship to make some steps forward.”

He added: “My goals are quite high, really, for this year: try to make it my best year in World Superbike. I’m not getting any younger, so I realise that any year I feel good I need to try to get the best results possible. 

“I feel as excited as ever to start this championship and I’m going to do my best.”