Phillip Island, Australia – – Nicolo Bulega of Aruba.it Racing – Ducati delivered a dominant performance at the Australian Round, securing a hat trick of victories to kick off the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. Bulega, repeating his success from , mastered challenging wet conditions in Race 2, finishing ahead of Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Álvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team).
The #11 rider controlled the race from pole position, extending a lead of over a second early on against Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team). Bassani also made early gains, while teammate Alex Lowes struggled initially, dropping to fifth before ultimately crashing out on Lap 19 at Turn 1. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) briefly challenged for a podium position, passing Bassani on Lap 4, but his race ended prematurely with a crash on Lap 6 at Turn 3. He was subsequently diagnosed with a left wrist fracture and contusions to his right hand and left ankle, forcing his withdrawal from further competition.
Lowes’s crash promoted Bassani back into podium contention, though he trailed Montella by a significant six seconds. The race settled into a rhythm until Montella himself fell at Turn 9 on Lap 16, elevating Bassani to second and Bautista to third. This marked Bautista’s first podium finish as an independent rider.
Bulega’s victory is his 23rd in WorldSBK, surpassing Marco Melandri as the most successful Italian rider in the championship’s history. He also equaled Troy Corser and Jonathan Rea with eight victories at the Phillip Island circuit. The win underscores Bulega’s strong start to his title defense.
Bassani’s performance yielded his second double-podium result of his career, following a similar achievement at Magny-Cours in . Bimota has now secured three podium finishes this season, just one shy of their total from . Bautista, at 41 years, 3 months, and 1 day old, became the second-oldest rider to achieve a WorldSBK podium, trailing only Max Biaggi (44 years, 1 month, 7 days).
Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Action Racing) delivered a strong performance, finishing fourth – his best result in WorldSBK – after climbing from 13th on the grid. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) secured the best finish of the weekend for Yamaha, taking fifth place.
Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) showcased impressive recovery, advancing from 21st on the grid to finish seventh, battling closely with teammate Danilo Petrucci, who ultimately took sixth. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) finished eighth, just ahead of Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven), who overcame a double Long Lap Penalty for a jump start to secure ninth place. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) rounded out the top ten.
The race saw several retirements, including Mattia Rato (Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) who crashed early due to the wet conditions. Ryan Vickers (Honda HRC) and Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) also failed to finish the race.
Race 2 Top 6:
- 1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
- 2. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +11.336s
- 3. Álvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) +17.790s
- 4. Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) +28.356s
- 5. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +30.966s
- 6. Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +31.901s
Fastest Lap: Nicolo Bulega, Ducati – 1’40.406s
WorldSBK Championship Standings (after Race 2):
- Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) – 62 points
- Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) – 42 points
- Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) – 26 points
- Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) – 25 points
- Álvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) – 19 points
- Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) – 19 points
The WorldSBK Championship now moves to Portimao for the next round of competition.
