The last bit of talking before track action in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship in 2026 is done. Thursday debriefs are in the bag at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit as the Australian Round prepares to kick off a sensational year of action. Just before riders take to the track, we’ve gathered the hottest quotes from the first media day of the year. 

Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “I arrive in the best team in this Championship, the best factory with the best bike”Looking ahead to his Ducati debut, Lecuona stated: “I’m excited! I’m very excited to start this year. As I’ve said many times, this is the best opportunity of my career. The team and I did a good job in the test. The progression was there, and we’re happy. I think we arrive at the weekend quite okay. The people were incredible, it’s like a big family, so it was very easy to have a good relationship with everyone in the team, not just my side, but Nicolo’s side. The main target is to feel good on the bike. The last four years, I struggled a lot and had many injuries. I arrive in a very different position. I arrive in the best team in this Championship, the best factory with the best bike. Now I can say I have the chance to win the Championship or fight for it. I couldn’t say that before. That changes a lot, to be calmer and to work in a different way than before. In the tests, I rode at 90% of my potential, and 80% from the bike. I need to learn, and I still have margin to push.”

Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “I think the bike is very, very good, but I need more time to understand it”Petrucci feels the tension in the air ‘Down Under’ ahead of his first round with BMW: “I’m really happy to be here, but at the same time, I know it is no easy task. I am with the team that have won the last two Championships, so I know the expectations are high. I think the bike is very, very good, but I need more time to understand it. I’m happy, but also quite nervous; it’s part of my job, but I’d like to leave Phillip Island with a smile. The last time I raced with an inline four-cylinder engine was in MotoGP in 2013 with a BMW engine, but that was back in another era of racing. The bike has many strong points, but we need to learn how to use it. I think the bike is really stable, and the power delivery is really smooth, but at Phillip Island, there aren’t many hard braking areas; there are many more long corners. We need to understand how to ride the bike on them. Every tenth matters in WorldSBK, so this will be a good test. I am not expecting much, I am quite confident but also a bit nervous. In my first year, I finished sixth, then fifth, then last season I was fighting for third, so I want to continue improving.”

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “The swingarm now helps you to stop the bike better, and also the exit is less nervous”Previewing Australia and giving his impressions of the new Panigale V4R, Bulega said: “Unfortunately, the tests during this winter weren’t very useful but I’m happy to start again. The test here was good. It’s a completely new bike so we have to understand it. There are a lot of things that I like a lot and some that we have to understand how to work with them. It’s a very young bike, so we have a lot of time to understand it. The swingarm now helps you to stop the bike better, and also the exit is less nervous. Here, I always have great memories. I won two races in WorldSSP, my first race in WorldSBK and last year I did the treble. It’s one of my favourite tracks. There are a lot of riders who have a lot of potential. I think there will be a big group. Iker’s a great guy and I think we can do a good job together.”

Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “We’ve seen the bike has a lot of potential but I’m not yet in the moment to get the best from the bike”A new bike and a new Championship for five-time MotoGP race winner Oliveira, who said: “I feel good and excited to start this new chapter. It’s always nice to be in a new place and get to know new people. The target is to keep adapting to the bike, keep learning and have a good, fun weekend. My adaptation is going well so far. We all know we had a strange pre-season, and the two days here at Phillip Island were quite important for us to get to know the team and bike better, and to increase my speed and adaptation. I think the biggest challenge is adapting to the bike. It’s a very different bike and, so far, we’ve seen the bike has a lot of potential but I’m not yet in the moment to get the best from the bike. Judging from the tests, I think around the top five could be a realistic result. More than that would be very ambitious.”

Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team): “I won the title twice, but that is in the past; we’re now in the present and we have to write the future”A new chapter begins for two-time Champion Bautista, who said: “We had two days of testing here, but it felt short to me because we had a lot to do. I’m happy because the team is working well, and we’re getting to know each other quickly. This opportunity has given me a new start in my career, and I want to give my best. It was not easy to be at Jerez and Portimao just watching the time pass; here in Australia, we only did a half day each day. It’s a new team, and it’s a unique track, so sometimes things you try here don’t work at other tracks don’t work at other circuits and vice versa. We got a good reference and tried a lot of things, especially on Day 2. My crew chief and my team now understand me better, and we are looking for direction right now. If I can end the weekend having improved the feeling and the pace, I’ll be happy. I don’t think I’ll get to my best this weekend because we need more time. I won the title twice, but that is in the past; we’re now in the present and we have to write the future. I’m very proud of it, but to have been the World Champion in the past doesn’t secure you good results.”

Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha): “My adaptation to the bike has been super-fast”On his new challenge in blue, Vierge said: “I’m super excited, especially because we didn’t have great weather this preseason, so I’m really looking forward to continuing our progress. Here at the test, we used our time to just continue to try to adapt to the bike. We’re super happy and excited to start my first official practice with the team on Friday. My adaptation to the bike has been super-fast, our performances haven’t been bad, but we have only had time at Australia and Jerez. We need more time to understand our real potential, but our starting point has been solid. I hope now that things are more under control, we can have a good weekend. It’s a new bike for me, so I had no expectations; my main focus was on my feeling. We’ll understand more this weekend, or it may even be too early. We’ll need to be ready for any conditions. It looks like it will be hot and windy, but we are ready for any conditions.”

Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team): “I adapted very well to the bike, but one thing is to adapt, and another is to go fast”Discussing his first weekend as a World Superbike rider, Manzi said: “Finally, we kick off the season opening weekend, so I’m very happy. Unluckily for me, I didn’t have a good test, because I had two bad crashes. Everything is new, and in the winter tests in Spain and Portugal, we had a lot of rain, so we didn’t do a lot of laps in the dry. You always need more experience on the bike, and now I just did this in the test in the dry and I’ll do it this weekend. I adapted very well to the bike, but one thing is to adapt, and another is to go fast and compete for the top spots in the Championship. I have to learn more. It was a bit different because you have more power and also on the braking side, the bike brakes more. You have more downforce when you brake. Everything is more fun. I just need more hours on the bike.”

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team): “I think, between second and tenth place, any of the guys can be on the podium”Aiming high after making a clear step with the KB998 Rimini machine, Lowes said: “Last year, especially the second half, was positive. The winter’s been slightly strange with not so many laps in Europe, but we had a pretty good test at the start of the week so I’m ready to get going. During the season, we made some steps forward and I think this is clear when we arrived back here 12 months later. To see a good step is always nice and it’s not easy in our Championship to make some steps forward. My target for the weekend is to work hard on Friday. My feeling with the bike is good and my target is trying to fight for the podium. I think, between second and tenth place, any of the guys can be on the podium.”

Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team): “I broke my arm and dislocated my shoulder, so it’s been a tough winter to recover”On his recovery from injury and the arrival of his new teammate, Gardner spoke light-heartedly, saying: “Looking forward to starting the season and getting back to racing! Unfortunately, I had a bit of a training accident back in November, I broke my arm and dislocated my shoulder, so it’s been a tough winter to recover. We’ve got to take it step by step and build back into racing. It’s probably a blessing in disguise that I wasn’t 100% at Jerez. We did 35 laps at Jerez, but I was done by then. We got 62 laps per day here, much better than last month, but still not feeling too great on the bike yet. It’s going to be a tough weekend for me, but we will just take it step by step. We had a few items we weren’t able to get to, so we’re a bit behind. We tried a new swingarm, but with the different tyres here, it didn’t give us the results we thought. We still have a lot of other things to test. It’s been chill with Stefano for the moment, as long as he stays behind me, I’ll be happy!”
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