Bold claim: Nicolo Bulega dominates practice again in Australia, signaling a potential title-chasing surge while rivals scramble to catch up. But here’s where it gets controversial: can FP3 form translate into a race-day breakthrough, or will the field tighten up when it really matters?
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) topped Saturday morning’s FP3 at Phillip Island by more than three tenths, confirming his pace across the Australian round. The Italian rider has led every session from the Official Test through FP1, FP2, and FP3, and now sits ahead of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team).
In FP3, Bulega completed a clean hat-trick of session wins, clocking a best lap of 1’28.273. He led Lowes by 0.302 seconds, with Bassani a further 0.149 back in third after a late push. Bassani had previously been quick out of the gates, posting a 1’28.722 to grab a top-three spot and set himself up for this afternoon’s Tissot Superpole session.
The Bimota-Kawasaki pairing remained strong: Alex Lowes was just 0.020 seconds behind his teammate, ensuring both Bimota riders stayed in the top four as the day progressed. All three Kawasaki-powered outfits lined up inside the top five, underscoring a closely matched fight at the front. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) claimed P5 with 1’28.743, only 0.001 seconds behind the #22 bike. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) closed in on his teammate Bulega, finishing sixth with a gap of under half a second.
Further back, Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) put in a 1’28.788 to take seventh, narrowly ahead of his teammate Alvaro Bautista, who was 0.050 seconds faster than Montella. The BMW duo also featured in the top ten, with Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) faster of the two on a 1’28.842, just 0.007 seconds ahead of Miguel Oliveira.
Top six from WorldSBK FP3:
- Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’28.273
- Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.302
- Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.449
- Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.469
- Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) +0.470
- Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.488
Next up: Tissot Superpole. The question on every rider’s mind: how will the first 2026 grid look after this afternoon’s session? Catch the action at 13:00 local time (UTC+11) with the WorldSBK VideoPass.
