After a winter tormented by bad weather, WorldSBK riders and teams will be hoping for bright sunshine as the final pre-season test gets underway at Phillip Island in Australia today.
Taking place on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of this weekend’s 2026 season-opener, the full grid will be in action down under – with the exception of injured HRC rookie Somkiat Chantra.
The 22-rider entry list, with the addition of wild-card Ryan Vickers, is led by reigning title runner-up and 2026 favourite Nicolo Bulega (Ducati).
The Italian has a new team-mate this season in the form of Iker Lecuona, with former champion Alvaro Bautista switching to the satellite Barni Spark Team.
Danilo Petrucci has left Barni to take over departing champion Toprak Razgatlioglu’s factory BMW ride, with the Italian joined by fellow MotoGP race winner Miguel Oliveira.
Moto2 title contender Jake Dixon (HRC) is another star rookie making his final preparations for 2026.
Andrea Iannone, who famously head-butted a seagull while leading the 2015 Australian MotoGP, is absent from the Phillip Island entry list amid doubts over the proposed ‘Cainem Racing’ project.
The track sessions alternate between the WSBK and WSS classes:
Phillip Island Test – Monday schedule (local time):
09:10-11:00 – WorldSSP Free Practice 1
11:10-13:10 – WorldSBK Free Practice 1
13:40-15:30 – WorldSSP Free Practice 2
15:40-17:40 – WorldSBK Free Practice 2