Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit's Australian Round saw British rider Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing) pop the cork on 2026 in spectacular fashion. The #95 continued the upward trajectory he showed in the closing rounds last season, landing his career best MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship result in the round’s closing race.

FIRST FEELINGS IN THE WET: “I felt confident on the out lap and the warmup lap, but it was the first time I was riding the bike in wet conditions”

Mackenzie started the weekend strong, clocking a 1’29.718s lap in the Tissot Superpole session to usher him to P11 on the starting grid for the first race of the season; his time just under four tenths off of factory BMW rider Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). Despite falling to P15 by the end of Race 1’s first lap, Mackenzie righted the ship and ended Saturday in P12. The Tissot Superpole Race saw a similar result, finishing the encounter in his same P11 spot. Race 2 is where Mackenzie got to business, as rain began to pour Down Under, leaving the track inundated with water. He sailed his Ducati V4 R well, landing in a career-best P4.

On his weekend’s results, Mackenzie said: “I’m really really happy!  I was a little disappointed not to make the top nine in the Superpole Race, but I was close, in the group with Iker, Petrucci and Surra. I had been struggling during the weekend since the test, with not having a good feeling with the bike. We improved it a bit this morning, but we’re still struggling a bit. When the rain came, I thought that I might have a chance to get a better result. My position had been around 10^th in the dry, and the rain gave me an opportunity to get a better result. I felt confident on the out lap and the warmup lap, but it was the first time I was riding the bike in wet conditions. I had only ridden in the rain once last year on the old bike, so I didn’t have many kilometres, but I thought now is my chance to get a good result. I made some good progress in the early laps and managed to get my best results.”

SMOOTH OPERATOR: “I think my riding style is quite smooth, and maybe that just works well in the wet”

Rainy conditions have historically been a good thing for the Scotsman, such as in WorldSSP at Most in 2023, when he won in the rain, Balaton’s Superpole Race, where he landed P8, and at Assen in 2025, where he landed his best result with his old PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team in P9. Now that he rides with MGM Optical Express Racing atop their formidable Panigale package, he has been showing his talent not just in the wet, but in the dry as well. He closed last season with a trio of top tens: P9 in Race 1, P7 in the Superpole Race, and P8 in Race 2 to close out a hot and dry weekend at Jerez at the end of 2025. ‘Taz’ maintains a good sense of humour about his affinity to the wet, and suggests that the UK’s famously wet weather, perhaps, was the perfect crucible to learn to ride hard in the rain.

On his penchant for soggy weather success, Mackenzie said: “When it was raining before, people were telling me, ‘It’s raining, you’re going to get a good result!’ which, I like, but I don’t like being this person who’s just fast in the rain. I want to try to have these same results in the dry. I think my riding style is quite smooth, and maybe that just works well in the wet. I have a lot of confidence in the rain. Maybe being from the UK just helps. I think it rained every day in January in the UK, so maybe we British people are just used to it, especially Scottish people. It felt great to back it up. I wasn’t expecting 4^th place; I had thought maybe top six would be great, but I ended up fourth!” I feel super proud. It’s been a hard offseason, not too many laps. It’s been difficult, but the team has come together, and it’s been made even better by landing this result. It’s something nice to build on; it gives us a lot of confidence going forward. I want to find something to help me click a little more in the dry. We just need some more time on the bike.”

Catch ‘Taz’ next time out at Portimao, March 27th-29th^th with the WorldSBK VideoPass!