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LIVE COVERAGE: Minute-by-minute coverage of 2026’s opening day of on-track testing action!

Wednesday, 21 January 2026 09:00 GMT

The 2026 preseason has lifted off in Jerez as the paddock is filled once again with some of the fastest riders on the planet for their first testing event at the Andalucian circuit this season

The excitement is palpable in southern Spain as the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s riders take to the track to set themselves up for success in this upcoming season. Rain has been falling overnight and appears that it will continue to hamper the riders throughout the day however little could dampen the enthusiasm of teams and their riders to get out on track and get this 2026 preseason underway! Get a full picture of who will be participating throughout the two-day test HERE! Track action is set to kick off at 10:00 local time (UTC +2) and continue until 18:00! Stay up to date as the drama unfolds below!

LIVE FROM THE CIRCUIT: Follow the test with live timings!

15:38 – Currently sat 13th fastest, Bassani returns to the track for his fifth stint as he looks to build continuity with new crew chief Uri Pallares

15:22 – Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) is currently the only rider on track, his fastest time stands at 2’04.770 as he rides his second stint of 2026 so far

15:16 – While they’re now back in the pits, BMW test rider and incoming WorldSSP rider Matteo Ferrari have both ridden their first stints of the test, six laps for the Dutchman and 16 for the Italian who prepares for his first full season after appearing in the final two rounds of 2025

14:42 – Rain continues to pelt the circuit into the afternoon, currently Vierge is the only rider out on track as the Spanish rider looks to prepare himself for his first season in Yamaha blue

14:02 – Live coverage will return after a short break! Click the link above to follow along with the current timings in the meantime!

13:57 – Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) breaks into the top ten with his 1’57.108s time to sit in ninth place

13:54 – Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) currently leads the WorldSSP field with his time of 1’57.205s, currently 2.781s quicker than his new teammate Dominique Aegerter (Kawaski WorldSSP Team) and the rest of the WorldSSP field behind him

13:41 – Petrucci’s spill marks the second crash of the 2026 WorldSBK field’s riders as his former teammate Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) had a small crash earlier in the session

13:38 – RED FLAG! Petrucci takes a tumble on Turn 13, he is ok but has returned to his box for the time being

13:37 – Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) emerges on track for his first testing stint of 2026, currently on his sixth lap and a time of 1’59.854s

13:30 – Three and a half hours into the test, your top five fastest riders so far are: Petrucci, Montella, Oliviera, Manzi and Lecuona

13:23 – Montella’s blazing third stint continues to show good things as the Italian 26-year-old improves to P2, just 1.218s slower than Petrucci’s reigning 1’52.976s time

13:17 – With his sixth lap of the day, Lecuona shoots up the order to P4 until moments later Independent Ducati Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) clocks a 1’55.489s lap to outpace the factory rider by just over a tenth of a second and snag P4 

13:04 - Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) lays down his first lap of the day so far as he prepares for his first season his factory Ducati red. His teammate Nicolo Bulega will likely not participate in Day 1 as rain continues to fall in Jerez

13:00 – Xavi Fores continues to show signs of Bimota engineers’ progress with their KB998 Rimini which is preparing for its sophomore season in WorldSBK, he now sits fourth fastest on the timesheet after 17 laps, the fastest among them a 1’55.917s 

12:56 – ‘Petrux’ again raises the bar and with his 12th lap sets another fastest lap, this time a 1’52.976s effort to raise his gap to 1.284s

12:51 – Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) joins test rider Xavi Fores to become the second Bimota rider to participate so far, he has ridden six laps so far in his first stint; the fastest among them a 1’57.978s to sit in P8 at the moment

12:37 – Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) is currently on his second stint on track and sits in P6. He stated earlier that he wants to get more comfortable with the 2026 Panigale V4R after getting a chance to ride it at the end of 2025, particularly hoping to come to understand the bike's new swing arm

12:33 – With the last lap of his third stint, Oliviera jumps up into P2 behind his new teammate Petrucci, cutting the gap behind him down to 0.558s

12:11 – One half of Honda HRC’s rider duo, Jake Dixon rides his first lap of 2026  before returning to the garage

12:09 – Not to be outdone, Oliveira jumps up to third fastest on the day while in P1, Petrucci improves yet again up to 1’54.17ss, carving out a gap of more than two seconds ahead of the rest of the field

12:06 – With just his third lap after emerging on track for the first time in 2026, BMW’s new signing, Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) has shot up to the top of the timesheet, displacing Manzi by nearly two tenths of a second thanks to his 1’56.117s effort

12:00 – after a pair of laps from #31, he returns to the box, leaving Surra as the sole rider on track as he looks to get up to speed with his Ducati Panigale V4R as he fills the empty seat left behind from Motocorsa’s 2025 rider, Ryan Vickers

11:56 – American Rider Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) launches his 2026 preseason as he emerges on track atop his team’s new and improved ZX-10RR Ninja

11:44 – Motocorsa’s rookie rider Alberto Surra makes his debut on track as a WorldSBK rider in 2026 after he earned his ride in part through an impressive showing in WorldSSP while filling in for the injured Aldi Mahendra who was riding for BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing team in 2025

11:42 – So far the only Honda rider to have taken to the track, Honda HRC test rider Tetsuta Nagashima has laid down six laps as he strives to collect data for the team’s new pair of riders, Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) and Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC); the latter of which will not be able to test at Jerez after suffering an injury to both arms while training in Malaysia

11:36 – Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) lays claim to the top spot on the timesheets as with his eighth lap, his 1’56.307s time wrestles P1 from Oliveira just over half a second slower

11:33 – Rain appears to be letting up for the moment however conditions on track remain wet

11:32 – Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) officially makes his Barni Ducati debut on track as the two-time World Champion Spaniard takes to the track to join his competitors

11:30 – Bimota test rider Xavi Fores flexes his new-and-improved KB998 Rimini’s muscle as he lays down a 2’00.873s time to jump to third-quickest on the day so far

11:27 – Oliveira takes the top spot on the timesheet with a 1’56.886s effort, pursued withing three quarters of a second by Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) as he looks to hit the ground running in his first season in WorldSBK

11:22 – Making his return to WorldSSP, Dominique Aegerter (Kawaski WorldSSP Team) rolls out onto the circuit as he looks to get back to his Championship-winning ways in the category

11:18 – Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) take to the track to get their Jerez test started on Day 1!

11:14 – Oliveira returns to the track for his second stint of the day! The Portuguese rider has big shoes to fill as he and Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) fill the open seats left behind by Michael van der Mark and three-time World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu

10:58 – After three laps, Locatelli returns to the box, currently sitting atop the timesheet with a time of 2’01.385s, just under a second ahead of Oliveira whose 2’02:297s was the fastest of his four laps ridden so far

10:50 – Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) takes to the track as well as he looks to continue his adaptation to the M 1000 RR after seven seasons in the MotoGP paddock

10:42 – Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) emerges from the pits as the first rider on track of the session!

10:25 – Riders have yet to take to the track due to wet conditions, however crew members around the boxes remain active, stay tuned for the beginning of the action

10:00 – And we’re underway! Rainy conditions here in Jerez have left the track inundated with water, likely delaying the appearance of riders on track