Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) announced his return to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock in style across the two-day Official Test. ‘Balda’ was quick across all four sessions at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, culminating in a third-place finish on Tuesday behind Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team).

Baldassarri is making his WorldSBK return in 2026 after two seasons away. Although he competed in the Championship in 2023, high points were sparse and he returned to WorldSSP for 2024 where he couldn’t reach the success he had before. A change of scenery followed again in 2025 with MotoE where he took three podiums and finished sixth, which helped him secure a WorldSBK return. Although he was at Jerez and Portimao, running was limited due to the rain.

However, at Phillip Island, the entire field were able to get dry running under their belt with all four sessions held in ideal conditions. ‘Balda’ was seventh quickest on Day 1 with a 1’30.275s which he set in the opening session on Monday, putting him around nine tenths slower than pacesetter Bulega. On Tuesday, the Italian surged up the order to third place after he posted a 1’29.328s at the end of FP2, capping off a strong test as he closed the gap to Bulega by a couple of tenths as he put himself firmly in the podium conversation for this weekend’s action.

On his feelings from the Official Test, Baldassarri said: “It was another day where I enjoyed the bike and the track, improving lap after lap. We started working on the bike to make the best base setup for me. It was nice to confirm the speed of Day 1 and to try the consistency of the race tyre. We have a good pace with many laps. It’s a bit unexpected because my target usually in a test is to improve step by step and not go full gas in the test, because then you don’t understand for the race. It was good because I increased the speed lap after lap and built the feeling.”

Team GoEleven have enjoyed success at Phillip Island in the past. In 2025, Andrea Iannone brought the team a double podium, and a P3 finish on his WorldSBK debut two seasons ago. Baldassarri has shown the pace in testing to meet that mark, and it would not be the first time the #34 tasted the Prosecco DOC here. Back in 2022, the Italian landed WorldSSP, the Italian landed in Race 2 when he finished in third. Given his testing form at the circuit, can ‘Balda’ claim a first WorldSBK rostrum at the legendary venue?

Discussing his goals for the weekend, Baldassarri stated: “We said our target, at the beginning of the season, was to see the base speed and from there, build and try to achieve podiums and fight for the top positions. It’s good because we’re already fast. I feel confident that we can fight for interesting positions from the beginning.”

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