A cool-headed Nagashima just misses top ten in a wet SBK Race 2

The Honda HRC team and substitute rider Nagashima round out the opening WorldSBK weekend with a positive P11 in a wet Race 2 at Australia’s Phillip Island.

The Honda HRC team has completed the first Superbike World Championship round of the 2026 season with test rider Tetsuta Nagashima, taking on Sunday’s wet weather at the Phillip Island Circuit with solid results.

With permanent entries Jake Dixon and Somkiat Chantra both unable to compete this weekend, Nagashima was the team’s sole flagbearer during this inaugural round, with British rider Ryan Vickers competing as a wildcard with the Honda HRC test team.

After a brief warm-up, the team made preparations for the 10-lap Superpole race, which got underway at 1pm local time (CET+10). Starting once again from row six in a race that began in dry but cloudy conditions following morning rain, Nagashima slipped back several places off the line. Working hard to recover but with limited laps in which to do so, Tetsuta climbed to eighteenth by lap seven. Rain threatened at a certain point of this short sprint but fortunately held off, allowing Nagashima to make up one more position in the final stages to cross the line in seventeenth position.

Starting from the same position for Race 2, Nagashima took to the grid for the final race, which ran in wet and windy conditions, very different from Saturday’s Race 1. A far-from-perfect start saw him drop to last place midway through the opening lap, but Nagashima kept his composure and gradually built confidence on the wet asphalt. Progressing to fourteenth by lap seven, the Japanese rider continued to increase his pace throughout the second half of the race. Running thirteenth on lap 13, Tetsuta was careful to avoid mistakes in a race that caught out several of his rivals. Making up two more positions in the closing stages, the Honda HRC test rider did an excellent job to secure P11, finishing less than four seconds shy of the top ten.

Wildcard Ryan Vickers completed the Superpole race in an encouraging fifteenth place but retired from SBK Race 2.