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The Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit played host once again to another stunning season-opening FIM Supersport World Championship weekend. 2026 didn’t disappoint and featured new faces on the podium, including Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing), who took home a Race 1 bronze medal from his native country in the opening contest of the 2026 campaign

Bayliss started out Race 1 from a promising P2 grid spot on the front row, and got a good jump off the line, but after going bar to bar with Valentin Debise (ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) and getting boxed off the racing line, he saw his track position fall down to P6 by the end of Lap 1. By Lap 3, Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) found a way past the Aussie to send him down to his lowest position of the race, P7.

From Lap 4 on, Bayliss was on the attack, first overcoming Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) for P6 on Lap 5, then responded in kind to Arenas and Debise to take P4. Debise suffered a crash, knocking the Frenchman out of the fight. Meanwhile, the podium was coming into view for Bayliss as he passed Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) for P3 on Lap 9 of 18. Oncu and Arenas, however, weren’t going to go down without a fight, and the pair both passed him on Lap 12.

Lap 14 proved decisive, as the #32 retook his P3 position from Arenas by outpacing him by nearly six tenths of a second. The rider from Down Under made the overtake and carved out a gap for himself, which he defended until he saw the chequered flag. A chaotic Race 2 with heavy rainfall saw his team’s tyre choice backfire to finish P12 after his P6 starting position, still well within the points, but certainly not the result the #32 will remember from 2026’s Australian Round.

On his Race 1 rostrum result, Bayliss said: “It was quite a hard race. I had a good jump at the start, but I got a bit boxed in going into Turn 1 and lost a few positions. After that, we were back a few positions, and I tried to just fight my way forward, and once I got to P3, the gap to first and second was already quite blown out, so it was a bit too hard to catch those guys. I made a little mistake on Turn 6 that put me back in fifth or sixth. Once I understood how the other guys were riding, it helped me fix up my own riding up a bit, and I started to ride faster and more comfortably and a bit faster, so we ended up on the podium!”

Bayliss had to wait five seasons, and a total of 84 races to at long last land his maiden podium, the longest wait for a maiden podium in WorldSSP history. Despite the drought, the Aussie tasted the Prosecco DOC in style at home in front of his family and friends. His effort saw him become the first Aussie on the podium since Phillip Island back in 2017.

On what the home result means to him, Bayliss said: “It means a lot to get my first podium, especially at my home track, it’s great, I have my family and friends here, everyone is here. If there was a place to get my first podium, it would be here. This first podium gives me confidence for sure. We’ve been fast all through testing and all weekend; this is a confidence booster for sure, and it adds a bit to finishing a race in a good position. We need to back it up in the rounds to come; we will see how we go.”

Catch the #32 next time out in Portimao as they take on their second Round of the season with the WorldSBK VideoPass!