Ducati’s new Panigale V4 R leads the way as Turn 6 catches out Manzi and Vickers
Nicolo Bulega has picked up where he left off in 2025, topping Free Practice 1 at the opening Official Test for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island. The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati rider put the new Panigale V4 R through its paces across the two-hour session and ended the morning nearly half a second clear of the pack, holding off a late charge from fellow Italian Yari Montella.
Bulega was the first rider to break into the 1m29s bracket and ultimately logged a best of 1:29.451, finishing 0.470s ahead of Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) on 1:29.921. Axel Bassani made it an all-Italian top three, the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team rider just a tenth adrift of Montella.
Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) left his best until late to grab fourth with a 1:30.275, edging Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) by just 0.009s as the American continued to get valuable dry-track time on the updated ZX-10RR. Alex Lowes impressed for bimota by Kawasaki in sixth with a 1:30.286—already quicker than his time from the equivalent session last year—while Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) was seventh, a fraction behind Lowes.
Yamaha’s best early showing came from Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha), who set a 1:30.420 to finish eighth, 0.969s off Bulega’s benchmark. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) ended ninth despite triggering a red flag a little over an hour in due to a technical issue on his Ducati, while Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) completed the top ten with a late 1:30.626, narrowly ahead of rookie Jake Dixon (Honda HRC).
The session also featured a couple of incidents at Turn 6, with Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) the first to crash during the Official Test but able to resume and finish 16th, just ahead of Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha). Honda wildcard Ryan Vickers also went down at the same corner as the field worked through a productive first day of running at Phillip Island.
WSBK Phillip Island Test Day 1
| RIDER | BIKE | TIME | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N. Bulega | DUC | 1'29.451 |
| 2 | Y. Montella | DUC | 0.470 |
| 3 | A. Bassani | BIM | 0.788 |
| 4 | L. Baldassarri | DUC | 0.824 |
| 5 | G. Gerloff | KAW | 0.833 |
| 6 | A. Lowes | BIM | 0.835 |
| 7 | A. Bautista | DUC | 0.882 |
| 8 | X. Vierge | YAM | 0.969 |
| 9 | S. Lowes | DUC | 1.030 |
| 10 | M. Oliveira | BMW | 1.169 |
| 11 | J. Dixon | HON | 1.204 |
| 12 | I. Lecuona | DUC | 1.310 |
| 13 | A. Surra | DUC | 1.580 |
| 14 | T. Mackenzie | DUC | 1.641 |
| 15 | B. Sofuoglu | YAM | 1.665 |
| 16 | S. Manzi | YAM | 1.892 |
| 17 | A. Locatelli | YAM | 1.934 |
| 18 | R. Gardner | YAM | 2.003 |
| 19 | D. Petrucci | BMW | 2.083 |
| 20 | T. Nagashima | HON | 2.092 |
| 21 | R. Vickers | HON | 2.097 |
| 22 | M. Rato | YAM | 3.398 |
