STATS ROUND-UP: Bulega surpasses Biaggi and Melandri, Bimota take first double podium since 1988
Check out all the stats and facts from an incredible visit to Phillip Island as the 2026 season kicked off
The 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship is finally underway, and there were big milestones achieved at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit. Get up to date on all the big stats from the season-opening Australian Round as Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) surpassed Max Biaggi and Marco Melandri, while Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) pulled off historic comebacks.
939 – Between Axel Bassani’s (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) Imola 2023 Race 2 rostrum and his Tissot Superpole Race podium in Australia, 939 days had passed.
800 – Ducati have been on the podium in 800 WorldSBK races.
450 – Ducati claimed their 450th WorldSBK win thanks to Bulega in Race 1.
129 – Alvaro Bautista’s (Barni Spark Racing Team) P3 in Race 2 was his 129th podium; he’s now just one behind Troy Corser.
200/100 – The Tissot Superpole Race was Garrett Gerloff's (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) 200th race in WorldSBK, while Race 1 was Danilo Petrucci's 100th.
59/61 – Bulega has 59 podiums in his WorldSBK career, 16th on the all-time list. His next targets are two-time Champion James Toseland and Pierfrancesco Chili; both have 61.
41 – Bautista became the second oldest rider on the podium, at 41 years, 3 months and 1 day old in Race 2. Only Maxi Biaggi (44 years, 1 month, 7 days) was older when taking a rostrum.
23 – Bulega’s 23rd victory in WorldSBK means he’s now the Italian rider with the most wins. He surpassed Max Biaggi in the Tissot Superpole Race and Marco Melandri in Race 2.
21-8 – Oliveira’s Race 1 comeback from P21 to P8 is the best comeback at Phillip Island since Ryuichi Kiyonari went from P19 to P6. The #88 then bettered his fight back in Race 2, going from P21 to P7.
16 – Bulega is on a run of 16 consecutive podiums, the eighth-longest in WorldSBK history (tied with Troy Corser).
11.336 – Bulega’s Race 2 winning margin of 11.336s was the largest at Phillip Island since Bautista won Race 2 in 2019 by 12.195s.
7 – Bulega has seven wins at Phillip Island, putting him level with Troy Corser and Jonathan Rea.
3 – Bulega has won the first race of the season in the last three years. The last rider to achieve this streak was Jonathan Rea between 2015 and 2017.
3/4 – Bimota took three podiums in Australia. They are only one behind their 2025 tally.
2 – For the first time since Magny-Cours in 2022, Bassani claimed two rostrums in a single weekend. His Race 2 rostrum was the first podium finish out of his eight where he did not gain places on the grid; he started and finished second.
2 – Bimota took their first double podium since 1988 in the Superpole Race. On that occasion, in Race 2 at Estoril, Stephane Mertens led Davide Tardozzi.
2 – Bassani is second in the Riders’ Championship for the first time in his career. It’s also the first time a Bimota rider has been P2 in the standings since 1988, when Tardozzi was leading the standings up to Oran Park.
What other milestones will be reached throughout 2026? Find out using the WorldSBK VideoPass!
