Factory Ducati rider Nicolo Bulega stormed to a dominant victory in the first race of the 2026 WorldSBK season at the Australian round in Phillip Island.
Bulega led from lights to flag as he secured his fourth-straight victory around the Phillip Island circuit in style, almost five seconds clear of second-placed Yari Montella.
Polesitter Bulega wheelied off the line but still held onto the lead going into the first corner over satellite Ducati rider Montella.
Alex Lowes also made a good start from fourth on the grid and moved ahead of brother, Sam, into the podium positions in the opening corners.
Immediately, Bulega used his superior pace to breakaway from the chasing pack, edging into a one-second lead by the end of the first tour of the circuit.
Alvaro Bautista struggled in the opening phases of the race, and his debut for the Barni Spark team came to a premature end after a crash at Turn 11 on the third lap.
Sam Lowes also had issues with his rear tyre in the early part of the race, losing further positions to the second Bimota of Axel Bassani as well as Lorenzo Baldassari.
Bassani was later given a drop-one position penalty after his move on Lowes at the Miller hairpin was deemed unsatisfactory, though the Italian regained the place one lap later.
Baldassari gained momentum following his overtake on Lowes, and used the superior straightline speed of his Ducati to pass both Bimota riders and move into third.
As the race steadied, it was Alex Lowes who began to struggle with the tyres, which allowed Sam Lowes to return the favour from earlier in the race and put a pass on his brother for fifth.
Lowes’ misery was compounded as Iker Lecuona closed the gap and found his way through at Turn 9 with six laps remaining.
The Bimota rider had been wary of Xavi Vierge, who was the next rider closing in from behind but the Yamaha rider suffered a big crash at the Miller Hairpin and saw his race end with five laps remaining.
Just behind the difficulties of Lowes, Miguel Oliveira stormed through from 21st on the grid to 11th, and picked up two further positions after passing Alberto Surra and Garret Gerloff ran wide.
The end of the race saw the fight for the final podium position heat up once more, as Bassani and Lowes closed in on Baldassari in third.
Bassani continued to lap quicker than his compatriot ahead, with the gap sitting at three tenths as the pair started the final lap of the race.
At the front, Bulega cruised across the line to record Ducati’s 450th victory in WorldSBK by 4.776s.
Montella went largely unchallenged throughout the race and secured second place for the Barni Spark team.
Baldassari managed to hold off the charging Bassani over the line as the GoEleven rider clinched his first-ever podium in WorldSBK.
Bassani was the only non-Ducati rider in the top five as he settled for fourth place ahead of MarcVDS’ Sam Lowes.
Lecuona salvaged a respectable sixth place in his first race as a factory Ducati rider, while Alex Lowes kept seventh despite his difficulties with the Pirelli tyres.
Oliveira gained 13 places over the course of the race and finished in eighth ahead of an impressive rookie performance from Surra in ninth.
Danilo Petrucci completed the top 10 on his first BMW start, while Gerloff slipped to 11th after some late issues.
Tarran Mackenzie crossed the line to take 12th, while Andrea Locatelli ended a difficult race for Yamaha in 13th.
Honda replacement riders Tetsuta Nagashima and Ryan Vickers rounded out the points finishers in 14th and 15th respectively.
MotoXracing riders Bahattin Sofuoglu and Mattia Rato also struggled aboard their Yamahas and completed the race in 16th and 17th.
Stefano Manzi and Remy Gardner both retired from the race with a technical issue, joining Bautista and Vierge as the non-finishers of the opening race of the 2026 WorldSBK season.
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