Nagashima at work on day 1 of the 2026 WorldSBK Opener
The Honda HRC team kicks off the 2026 WorldSBK season at Phillip Island with substitute rider Tetsuta Nagashima while British rider Ryan Vickers competes as a wildcard with the Honda HRC test team
The 2026 Superbike World Championship is officially underway at Australia’s Phillip Island Circuit, where Honda HRC is fielding test rider Tetsuta Nagashima in place of permanent entries Jake Dixon and Somkiat Chantra, who are both sidelined this weekend through injury.
With Dixon having now undergone surgery in Melbourne to stabilize fractures in his hand and wrist sustained while testing just days ago, both he and Chantra will now focus on recovering in a safe and timely fashion.
Free practice got underway on a dry track at 11.20 am local time (CET +10), marking the start of another exciting race season. Having tested at this track just three days ago, Nagashima and his technicians were able to make good use of the data and findings from that test as they head into this race weekend. Nagashima worked hard during the opening practice as he and the team made adjustments to the setup of the CBR1000RR-R. By the end of this first phase, the Japanese rider had completed 21 laps, the best of which in 1’30.560 to place eighteenth.
The afternoon brought a second (dry) practice – air temp. 22°C, track temp. 45°C – during which the Japanese rider continued to prepare for the weekend’s three races. The session was briefly red flagged in the early stages after a wallaby made its way onto the track, but the SBK field was soon back to work. Doing his best to fully exploit the 45-minutes of track time, Tetsuta showed consistency. Improving on his FP1 best in the final moments (1’30.320), he rounded out the day in seventeenth position in the combined standings, seven thousandths of a second from fellow Honda rider Ryan Vickers, sixteenth.
Honda HRC and Nagashima will be back out on Saturday for a final free practice, Superpole qualifying and the first of the weekend’s 22-lap races.
Tetsuta Nagashima 45
“Overall, the first day here at Phillip Island has been positive. The conditions were good, similar to what we had during the test earlier this week, and I was able to improve on my lap times with respect to those sessions, which is encouraging. My feeling with the bike is improving step by step, also on the electronics side. I understand more about the package each time I go out, and that’s very important from a development point of view. Being on track together with the other riders helps too, as it allows me to better evaluate certain aspects and compare different situations. I’m not pushing like crazy - I’m focusing on feeling everything: the bike, the electronics, how it reacts. Then we make changes and try to improve gradually. I think we are working in a good direction. Tomorrow I will try to think a little less like a tester and ride more like a regular rider, pushing a little more to see what we can achieve while continuing to collect data for the future.”
Free Practices Combined Results
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bulega Nicolò | 11 | ITA | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 1'28.858 |
| 2 | Lowes Alex | 22 | GBR | bimota by Kawasaki Racing team | Bimota | 1'29.354 +0.496 |
| 3 | Lowes Sam | 14 | GBR | ELF Marc VDS Racing Team | Ducati | 1'29.382 +0.524 |
| 4 | Bassani Axel | 47 | ITA | bimota by Kawasaki Racing team | Bimota | 1'29.468 +0.610 |
| 5 | Bautista Alvaro | 19 | SPA | BARNI Spark Racing Team | Ducati | 1'29.482 +0.624 |
| 6 | Baldassarri Lorenzo | 34 | ITA | Team GOELEVEN | Ducati | 1'29.484 +0.626 |
| 7 | Montella Yari | 5 | ITA | BARNI Spark Racing Team | Ducati | 1'29.561 +0.703 |
| 8 | Lecuona Iker | 7 | SPA | ARUBA Racing - Ducati | Ducati | 1'29.657 +0.799 |
| 9 | Gerloff Garrett | 31 | USA | Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK | Kawasaki | 1'29.692 +0.834 |
| 10 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 1'29.746 +0.888 |
| 11 | Vierge Xavi | 97 | SPA | Pata Maxus Yamaha | Yamaha | 1'29.806 +0.948 |
| 12 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team | BMW | 1'29.834 +0.976 |
| 13 | Mackenzie Tarran | 95 | GBR | MGM Optical Express Racing | Ducati | 1'29.893 +1.035 |
| 14 | Surra Alberto | 67 | ITA | Motocorsa Racing | Ducati | 1'29.917 +1.059 |
| 15 | Locatelli Andrea | 55 | ITA | Pata Maxus Yamaha | Yamaha | 1'30.060 +1.202 |
| 16 | Vickers Ryan James | 17 | GBR | Honda HRC | Honda | 1'30.313 +1.455 |
| 17 | Nagashima Tetsuta | 45 | JPN | Honda HRC | Honda | 1'30.320 +1.462 |
| 18 | Manzi Stefano | 62 | ITA | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 1'30.388 +1.530 |
| 19 | Gardner Remy | 87 | AUS | GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 1'30.554 +1.696 |
| 20 | Sofuoglu Bahattin | 54 | TUR | Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 1'30.786 +1.928 |
| 21 | Rato Mattia | 13 | ITA | Yamaha MotoxRacing WorldSBK Team | Yamaha | 1'31.612 +2.754 |
Location Information
The beautiful Phillip Island circuit on the Bass Straight, off the coast of Victoria in Australia, is one of the most iconic and exciting venues in world motorsport. WorldSBK™ first raced at Phillip Island in 1990, just after the first MotoGP™ visit in 1989. Phillip Island Circuit Back Beach Road,… read more.
| POLE POSITION | LEFT |
| LENGTH | 4.445 Km |
| CORNERS | 12 |
| RIGHT CORNERS | 5 |
| LEFT CORNERS | 7 |
Records
| Pole Record | 1'27.916 (180,370 Km/h) N. Bulega (Ducati Panigale V4R, 2024) |
| Race Record | 1'28.564 (180,683 Km/h) N. Bulega RC1 (Ducati Panigale V4R, 2024) |
| All Time Record | 1'27.916 (180,370 Km/h) N. Bulega (Ducati Panigale V4R, 2024) |
| 2025 Race 1 Winner | N. Bulega (Ducati Panigale V4R) |
| 2025 Superpole Race Winner | N. Bulega (Ducati Panigale V4R) |
| 2025 Race 2 Winner | N. Bulega (Ducati Panigale V4R) |
