Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) took his third FIM Supersport World Championship victory in Race 1 at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, opening his account for the 2026 season with a lights-to-flag victory. The 25-year-old was untouchable leading up to the Australian Round and that continued as he secured the first win of the season, with the #5 reflecting on his victory.

Masia had enjoyed the perfect week heading into the opening round of the season. He had topped all four test sessions on ‘The Island’ as he laid down a gauntlet for his rivals, and the #5 then topped the sole Free Practice session on Friday morning by two tenths of a second ahead of Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing). It was a similar story in Tissot Superpole, with Masia leading Bayliss, although this time the gap was down to just under two tenths.

In the 18-lap Race 1, Masia came under pressure in the early laps from various rivals, including Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) and Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing), but he quickly found his groove. By the start of Lap 3, he’d increased his lead over Booth-Amos to 0.969s and, with the battle for P2 igniting, had doubled that by the end of Lap 4 to 2.015s. From there, the Spaniard was able to control the race before the gap extended further in the second half, as he eventually finished with a 5.521s second margin over Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) in second.

Reflecting on his Race 1 victory, Masia said: “I’m really happy about my performance. It’s been such a strange race and I wasn’t expecting that. I knew that I had really good pace and I just wanted to focus on my own race. I tried to do this. I’m really happy and I want to say thanks to my team and all the people who are at home supporting me. I wasn’t expecting the gap. I focused on myself and I was going corner by corner and trying to be perfect everywhere. I think these guys at the end slowed down because the gap was already too big.”

Given his pace across both the Official Test and the Australian Round, Masia was the heavy favourite heading into Race 2. However, a pre-race rain shower left the track wet but drying, and tyre choice was crucial. The Ducati rider started on wet tyres when slicks were the correct option and pitted to change his tyres on Lap 8. With other riders starting on dry tyres, such as Aldi Mahendra (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) and teammate Albert Arenas, with the former going from last on the grid to P1 in the first lap and a half, Masia was unable to fight for the rostrum and had to settle for P10.

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