Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) was once again the rider to beat as Sunday’s MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship action kicked off at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. The #11 was the fastest rider in the 10-minute session as the final day of the Australian Round started with Warm Up. He was 0.347s clear of his rivals, while the top nine were all within a second ahead of the weekend’s final two races.

Bulega had been a bit further down the order than used to in the first half of Warm Up but a 1’28.956s – again, the only rider in the 1’28s – to secure top spot and perhaps have a small milestone in mind: the last time one rider topped every session was Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) at the Autodrom Most in 2024. Bulega fended off Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) on the KB998 Rimini after he posted a 1’29.903s, while Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) completed the top three but was 0.001s slower than the #22.

Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) took fourth place, with the Lowes twins leading the session in the first five minutes after running a provisional 1-2, and the two brothers were separated by just 0.004s. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was fifth after ‘Petrux’ posted a 1’29.415s to secure fifth, ahead of Razgatlioglu in sixth. ‘El Turco’ had a moment at Turn 4 which forced him to take to the run-off, but he was able to re-join the session to secure P6 after lapping around half-a-second down on Bulega.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) took seventh place as the lead Yamaha rider. ‘Loka’ set a 1’29.919s to secure his spot in the top seven, with Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) only 0.002s down on his compatriot ahead. Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) was ninth with rookie Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) completing the top ten.

The top six from WorldSBK Warm Up, full results here:

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) 1’28.956s

2. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.347s

3. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) +0.348s

4. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.351s

5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.459s

6. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.542s

Watch the 10-lap Tissot Superpole Race from 13:00 Local Time (UTC+11) using the WorldSBK VideoPass