Bulega wins in Australia with Pirelli slick and rain tyres

· The 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship season, which opened as usual at the Australian Phillip Island circuit, began with a hat-trick for Nicolò Bulega (Ducati). The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team rider was the fastest all weekend and prevailed on slick tyres in Race1 and the Superpole Race, and on rain tyres, in Race2.

· Bulega won the Superpole Race ahead of Bimota Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes riders, opting (as he did in Race1 yesterday) for the D0922 specification rear tyre, while the Bimota riders went for the alternative E0829 specification. At the front, as in all the sessions and races of the weekend run in the dry, all riders used the soft SC1. Bulega also set the fastest race lap in 1’28.688 on lap seven and this year’s race was 2.7 seconds faster than the 2025 race, despite a few drops of rain towards the end laps.

· The tyre choice for Race 2 was mandatory, with all the riders starting out with the DIABLO Rain due to the damp weather. Even in the wet, Nicolò Bulega confirmed his excellent bond with the bike and tyres he had already showcased in the first two dry races, crossing the finish line with over 11 seconds of advantage on Axel Bassani (Bimota) and Alvaro Bautista (Ducati), second and third respectively.

· WorldSSP Race2 – won by Albert Arenas (Yamaha) ahead of Aldi Mahendra (Yamaha), second after starting last on the grid, and Matteo Ferrari (Ducati), third – was quite eventful. Fourth place for Andrea Giombini (MV Agusta). These four riders, along with Dominique Aegerter (Kawasaki), were the only ones to start the wet race with slick tyres, while all the others opted for wet tyres. The circuit, however, quickly began to dry out, favouring the riders on slicks after a few laps and forcing the others to stop for slick tyres. The only rider not to pit and running the entire race on wet tyres was Xavier Cardelús (Yamaha).

Very good tyre performance in both dry and wet conditions
 
“Over this Australian weekend, we saw both dry and wet tyres in action, and we are equally pleased with the performance showcased. In Race1 and in the Superpole Race, both DIABLO Superbike medium compound development rear solutions performed well, as proven by the array of choices made by the riders on the podium. The same can be said for the DIABLO Rain tyres employed in Race2, which helped the riders succeed even in rainy conditions. These tyres are used seldomly, however, when they are, they perform well even on a demanding track such as Phillip Island. Today, the Supersport riders were pushed to their limits, with those who opted for slick tyres right from the start despite the wet race gaining the upper hand. As they say, sometimes fortune favors the brave. I would like to extend my congratulations to all this weekend winners, especially Bulega and the Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team, who have already shown their true colours as the Championship frontrunners for this coming season and Bautista, Montella and Baldassarri who, as riders of independent teams, have achieved important podiums.”