LIVE COVERAGE: 2026 WorldSBK preparations officially begin in the first day of testing at Jerez!
With the 2025 season still looming large in the rear-view mirror, riders return to the track to begin work on their packages for 2026
Spain’s Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, Andalucia plays host once again on the heels of the season-concluding Pirelli Spanish Round. Several new names won’t be present at the test such as BMW’s new duo of Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci are occupied with MotoGP responsibilities and the former Ducati independent rider is still recovering from his hand surgery which required him to miss the final rounds of the season. However, former Honda riders Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge will be taking to the track in their new digs, Vierge made the jump to the Pata Maxus Yamaha garage to take the seat left behind from the retiring Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha). His former teammate Lecuona will be moving to Ducati machinery where he will ride alongside Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) in the Spaniard’s fifth season in the Championship. Get a full picture of who will be participating HERE! Track action will kick off at 10:00 local time (UTC +2) until 18:00, check out the minute-by-minute live coverage below!
LIVE FROM THE CIRCUIT: Follow the test with live timings available here!
18:00 – Vierge retains his P2 spot 1.110s behind Bulega with three other Yamahas close behind to close the day with a top three of Bulega, Vierge and Manzi!17:55 – Rolling out of pit lane with five minutes left in the session, Locatelli, Manzi and Vierge all emerge on track
17:47 – Vierge takes top Yamaha honors with his 1’39.136s time to sit P2
17:33- on his 87th lap and counting, Manzi clocks in second fastest and fastest of the Yamaha R1’s with his 1’39.349s time
A new beginning starts today!
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) October 21, 2025
A new #7 takes on the Panigale V4 R #WorldSBK pic.twitter.com/oDwqksi4dR
17:21 – Sofuoglu jumps up the order thanks to his 1’39.433s time, earning him third fastest
17:19 – Bulega keeps the hammer down with 40 minutes to go, setting a new best lap time of 1’38.027s
17:01- Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Mattia Rato (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) are currently the riders who have laid down the most laps, with 74 and 60 respectively
16:17 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) raises the bar even further with his 1’38.502s time, faster than his fastest time in Race 1 and Race 2 in the 2025 season’s final round
That fresh start feeling! @XaviVierge hits the track for the first time with his new bike — new colours, same hunger #WorldSBK pic.twitter.com/xuIiot3eYs
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) October 21, 2025
16:11 – Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) on his 39th lap jumped up to second place, the first riders whose time clocked in within half a second of the #11’s since he set it
15:48 – Locatelli laid down his personal best time of 1’39.479s on his seventh stint, drawing him to within 0.514s of Bulega in P1
15:22- Currently fourth on the timesheets, Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) has hit the 50-lap mark and is second fastest among Yamaha riders, just 0.002s behind Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha)
14:55 – Still not 100% from his final-round crash, Remy Gardner’s (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) test day comes to a close
14:29 – Lecuona’s eight-lap first ride on the 2026 Ducati Panigale V4 R places him 11th fastest
New year, new opportunity for @nbulega
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) October 21, 2025
Follow all the updates https://t.co/S2bbvXnx7a pic.twitter.com/KUXefS9XXQ
14:25 - Bulega's fifth lap's 1'38.965s time punches his ticket to the top of the timesheet, the time clocking in more than half a second faster than the previous fastest lap of 1'39.536s set by Michael van der Mark
14:10 – Ducati factory pair Iker Lecuona makes his Ducati debut on track with 2025 second place finisher Nicolo Bulega
13:22 – Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) took to the track for a six-lap stint, setting a new fastest lap among the WorldSSP riders
13:02 - Raindrops again starting to fall on-track
12:54 - Locatelli pulls away from pit lane to rejoin the running
12:50 – Gerloff and Rato return to the tarmac for their second stints to join Fores on track. This marks Gerloff's first lap after his initial 12-lap run while Rato has already laid down 24 laps
A new beginning is about to start for @LecuonaIker
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) October 21, 2025
Follow the minute by minute https://t.co/S2bbvXo4WI pic.twitter.com/CagRAn8sfE
12:33 – Van der Mark leads the WorldSBK field with his 1’39.536s time while Simon Jespersen (EAB Racing Team) is the sole WorldSSP rider to register a time, clocking in at 1’45.641s
12:00 - 'Loka' takes P1 with a 1'39.602s time, his new teammate Vierge simultaneously climbs into P5 behind van der Mark with a 1'41.347s
11:58 – Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) roll out onto the tarmac, the Turk quickly jumping up into the top three with a 1’39.793s time
New colors for @XaviVierge
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) October 21, 2025
Follow the lastest updates https://t.co/S2bbvXo4WI#WorldSBK pic.twitter.com/Be1QMleTal
11:51 – Yamaha factory pair Andrea Locatelli and Xavi Vierge take to the track, the first ride on the R1 for the Spaniard
11:47 – Gerloff lands the session’s first time under 1’40 as he, van der Mark and Bimota test rider Javi Fores comprise the three fastest riders so far
11:37 – Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) takes to the track, now reunited with former Crew Chief from his Yamaha and BMW days Les Pearson who the American will look to synergize with again in 2026
11:34 - Stefano Manzi moments later improves on Rato's time, setting the first lap of the session within the 1'42's
11:31 - Mattia Rato set a new fastest time on his ninth lap of 1'44.182
10:55 - The rain appears to be letting up, but the track is empty as the riders who did appear each returned to their boxes after five laps or less and have remained there as they wait for the rain to dry
10:44 – Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team) rolls out from pit lane making his debut as a test rider for the German manufacturer
Manzi is out on track for the first time as a #WorldSBK rider
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) October 21, 2025
Follow live what happens https://t.co/S2bbvXo4WI pic.twitter.com/Bnc8oxx7st
10:30 – Yamaha MotoxRacing’s new rookie rider Mattia Rato emerges from the box with Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) who is riding for the first time with his new WorldSBK team after his WorldSSP title winning season in 2025!
Good morning!
— WorldSBK (@WorldSBK) October 21, 2025
Day 1 of tests at Jerez has just started But… action has not yet begun as it’s raining #WorldSBK pic.twitter.com/KvHsCCZ3OE
10:00 - The test is officially underway however riders have yet to take to the track on account of rainfall at the circuit