Australia Race 2: Bulega unfazed by the rain, Ducati unchallenged

They hoped the rain would complicate Nicolò Bulega’s plans and bring some uncertainty back to this single-themed Superbike. But in heavy wet conditions, the Ducati rider’s superiority was even more overwhelming. The Australian hat trick is served.

Race 2, which started in a cloud of spray, was even more straightforward than the previous day’s duel under the sun. Nicolò is a cut above everyone; it’s not even a matter of the Panigale V4 R’s superiority, because his teammate Iker Lecuona, a former MotoGP rider, took heavy gaps throughout the Phillip Island week. It’s the rider himself who’s in a different league. With Toprak Razgatlioglu now in MotoGP, Bulega has no more rivals. Meanwhile, the tally grows: 23 wins, 7 at Phillip Island in nine starts.

Yari Montella has always gone well here, but few expected to see him this competitive. In the wet he had basically locked in a repeat of the previous day’s second place, but he lost the rear at Lukey Heights, blemishing a weekend that could have been perfect. Axel Bassani, on the other hand, made no mistakes, confirming Bimota’s potential—currently the only real bulwark against Ducati’s might—and, above all, returning to the levels he showed in Motocorsa Ducati. Last season’s complications have faded; now Axel seems one with the KR998: the care of new crew chief Uri Pallares is working wonders.

The podium welcomed back former world champion Alvaro Bautista: the move from factory to satellite rider with the Barni team hasn’t dented his potential. The real problem is the eight kilos of ballast he has to carry due to a rule that’s not only unsporting but downright senseless: Superbike needs credible antagonists for Bulega, and one of the very few there are is forced to race with a handicap. The rain put wings on amphibious Tarran Mackenzie, fifth, and restored a shred of dignity to Yamaha, with Andrea Locatelli sixth. The Australian balance sheet, however, is very worrying for a brand that, with regulatory aids, expected to challenge the Red.

The Germans are in big trouble, because neither Miguel Oliveira nor Danilo Petrucci managed to come anywhere close to predecessor Toprak Razgatlioglu. If a rain wizard like Petrux loses over 31 seconds in a 22-lap race, it means the rider-bike harmony is far from ideal. The same goes for Oliveira, who ended up immediately behind: for Superbike riders it’s hard to adapt to MotoGP, but the reverse is also true.

Superbike has wrapped up the only intercontinental trip of the ’26 World Championship. In a month it returns (and will stay…) on the old continent, landing on the Portuguese rollercoaster of Portimão the weekend of March 27–29. Teams were supposed to test here last month, but the work was actually wiped out by bad weather. So it will be another round with few references and many pitfalls. Bulega and the Ducati armada arrive with the wind at their backs, while the rivals are already on the ropes.