New faces adapt to 2026 machinery as Bulega goes under lap record

Just two days after the tense and slightly bad-tempered end of the 2025 FIM Superbike World Championship at Jerez in Spain, the class of 2026 (or at least some of them) reconvened at the very same circuit to get their preparations for the new season underway.

With so many top names exiting the championship this off-season and some remaining where they were for another year (think Bulega, Lowes, Bassani, Locatelli, Gardner, Gerloff, etc.), there were a few new sights to behold.

Xavi Vierge is a new factory Yamaha rider and showed his credentials straight away, going second fastest on day one, behind only Nicolo Bulega and his remarkable new Ducati V4-R, with its twin-sided rear swingarm.

Recently crowned WorldSSP champion, Stefano Manzi, was third overall on day one, while new factory Ducati rider, Iker Lecuona, was seventh. The new Ducati rider positively jumped up to be the second fastest rider over the two-day test, with a late hot lap on day two. He was over a second faster than on day one. But Bulega was finally 0.857 seconds up on even Lecuona at the end. And he even beat his one new race lap record, set in the Superpole Race this year, of 37.659.

A strong debut for the new Ducati V4-R, and then some.

On day two, a brace of bimotas were added to the few remaining riders left after day one. Lowes would be third fastest overall, on a bike with what appeared to be several small changes.

Michael van der Mark stuck in a fast lap at the end, after two long and positive days of BMW test team riding.

The other bimota, of Axel Bassani, was overall fifth in the combined times, with day one riders Vierge, Manzi and Bahattin Sofuoglu eighth. A first day of experimentation and new parts left Andrea Locatelli ninth in the final times, with a fast late final day push from Corentin Perolari putting the first Honda into the combined two-day rankings.

Ryan Vickers was one of three Honda riders testing at Jerez, on both days, although none were allowed to speak to the media.

Philipp Öttl was the fastest of the two WorldSSP Ducatis, with Simon Jespersen joining EAB Racing for 2026.

Les Pearson is back as crew chief for Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBBK Team) but a few others were not quite in place yet, in role yet, although Andrew Pitt was inside the BMW garage, in his BMW clothing. There are lots of crew chief changes for 2026.

After two days for some, and only one for others – and only a small amount of rain on the morning of the first day that lost a little bit of available time – this test was a perfect example of just how dramatically WorldSBK has changed in the space of a few days. Riders, crew chiefs, some backroom staff, it is more changes than stability in 2026. With huge names like Razgatlioglu, Rea and VDM now not active WorldSBK riders, that may not be a bad thing for the prospects of close racing.

But two brand-new (and really quite heavily changed) Ducatis right at the top of the timesheets in a test against many of their peers? It looks ominous, but we are a long way from the first points-scoring round of 2026, at PI in late February.

COMBINED BEST TIMES

WorldSBK

1 – Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’37.587s

2 – Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’38.444s

3 – Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 1’38.756s

4 – Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team) 1’38.998s

5 – Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 1’39.050s

6 – Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 1’39.137s

7 – Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’39.349s

8 – Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) 1’39.433s

9 – Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 1:39.479s

10 – Corentin Perolari (Honda HRC Test Team) 1’39.607s

11 – Ryan Vickers (Honda HRC Test Team) 1:39.659s

12 – Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) 1’39.689s

13 – Remi Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha ) 1’39.695s

14 – Xavi Forres (BbKRT Test Team) 1’40.276s

15 – Alan Techer (Honda HRC Test Team) 1’40.323s

16 – Mattia Rato (Yamaha MotoX Racing) 1’41.243s

WorldSSP

17 – Philipp Öttl (Feel Racing SSP Team) 1’42.632s

18 – Simon Jespersen (EAB Racing Ducati) 1’43.907s.

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)
“It was quite a good day, even if only a half day of work. I think we improved a bit from yesterday, with one more night of experience to analyse everything. I felt good straight away, and we managed to make some small steps with the turning — not perfect yet, but better. I lost a little in braking compared to yesterday, but overall we’ve made progress. We have good data for the winter, and I’m sure the team will work a lot to prepare for next year.”

Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team)
“First of all, it’s amazing to make my WorldSBK debut — it’s been an exciting day and I couldn’t wait to ride the bike. Our main goal today was to complete as many laps as possible. Unfortunately, the weather wasn’t ideal early on, and we lost a bit of track time, but we still managed to do a lot of work and I’m happy overall. Today was all about getting comfortable and building confidence with the Yamaha R1. From the next tests, we’ll start to focus more on details, so I’m already looking forward to being back on track.”

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team)
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t ride as much as we planned today because of my shoulder. Still, we completed a few laps and decided to save half a day for later, which could be useful. I’m satisfied with what we managed to do, and now the focus is on the next test in a month’s time. I’ll take some rest to recover properly and come back in good shape for the next outing.”

  1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’37.587s
  2. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’38.444s
  3. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 1’38.756s
  4. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team) 1’38.998s
  5. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 1’39.050s
  6. Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 1’39.137s
  7. Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’39.349s
  8. Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) 1’39.433s
  9. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 1:39.479s
  10. Corentin Perolari (Honda HRC Test Team) 1’39.607s
  11. Ryan Vickers (Honda HRC Test Team) 1:39.659s
  12. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) 1’39.689s
  13. Remi Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha ) 1’39.695s
  14. Xavi Forres (BbKRT Test Team) 1’40.276s
  15. Alan Techer (Honda HRC Test Team) 1’40.323s
  16. Mattia Rato (Yamaha MotoX Racing) 1’41.243s