SBK 2026, at Phillip Island the final test before the start: teams in search of answers, the schedule

Superbike in Australia after poor tests in Spain and Portugal: the hope is to avoid new weather-related issues.

A 2026 SBK pre-season fairly forgettable for the teams, who due to the awful conditions found at Jerez and Portimao were unable to carry out the planned work. Now everyone is at Phillip Island, where on Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 February the final test is scheduled before the season-opening round, which will take place right in Australia over the weekend of 20–22 February.

Teams and riders are hoping for favorable weather to work normally. Unfortunately, as we reported in recent days, there will be a tire-related problem: due to a delay in sea freight, it won’t be possible to try Pirelli’s new rear tire.

Ducati is fielding a new bike in 2026 and so far there hasn’t been enough opportunity to develop it properly, given the little dry-track time. Nicolò Bulega, who called the winter tests “useless,” wants to get to know the new Panigale V4 R better to be in winning shape from the start. Iker Lecuona, taking his first steps in the Ducati world, has the same ambition and is counting heavily on the Phillip Island test.

Alvaro Bautista, the new signing for the Barni Spark Racing Team, dreams of challenging the Aruba Ducati factory riders and needs to rack up miles on the new bike. His teammate Yari Montella is in his second year in the WorldSBK Championship and to be on the grid in 2027 as well he needs results in the first part of the season. He wants to lay good foundations already in Australia. A rider to watch this year is Sam Lowes, who in his third year in the category wants to be a constant presence at the sharp end. He and the Marc VDS team grew a lot in 2025 and with the new Panigale V4 R they hope to be even stronger. The Australian test is also crucial for other Ducati riders like Lorenzo Baldassarri (Go Eleven team) and Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing team).

When it became clear that Portimao wouldn’t offer suitable conditions for proper testing, the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team moved to Valencia and at the Ricardo Tormo circuit managed to get Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira on track. Both are in their first year with the M 1000 RR and need as much track time as possible, especially the Portuguese rider, a complete debutant in the production-derived championship.

Yamaha doesn’t have a new R1 and is banking on continuity with Andrea Locatelli, entering his sixth year with the blue team and eager to raise the bar. On the other side of the garage is the newcomer, the highly motivated Xavi Vierge, already impressive in his first outings with the Iwata bike. The test in Australia will help him get to know it even better. The same goes for Stefano Manzi of the GYTR GRT Yamaha team, the 2025 Supersport world champion and a 2026 Superbike rookie. His teammate is Australian Remy Gardner, who will certainly want to shine on home soil.

The Yamaha Motoxracing team will have its first 2026 test with Bahattin Sofuoglu and Mattia Rato, the latter a Superbike rookie and making his first visit to Phillip Island.

The Bimota project is in its second year and to help the KB998 Rimini grow it’s important that Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani can turn laps and try out the various updates. There’s no shortage of novelties at Honda either, with new riders signed and only one present at Phillip Island: Jake Dixon is there, Somkiat Chantra is in Thailand recovering from injury and will be replaced by test rider Tetsuta Nagashima. Kawasaki is in action with the sole Ninja ZX-10RR ridden by Garrett Gerloff, who has already glimpsed positive aspects with the 2026 version that could allow him to take a step forward after a challenging 2025.

Naturally, teams and riders from the World Supersport Championship are also in Australia, and over the two days of testing they will alternate on track with their Superbike colleagues. Below is the schedule with times (Italy time).