Andrea Locatelli came through from 15th on the grid to a fighting fifth-place finish in Race 2 at Phillip Island, concluding Round 1 of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship in Australia, today. The strong result from the rain-soaked final feature of the weekend was a silver lining in a difficult opening round for Yamaha’s Official WorldSBK Team. A disappointing 14th-place finish in the dry Superpole Race this morning was not enough for the team’s #55 rider to improve his

Xavi Vierge led the charge for Pata Maxus Yamaha on the first race day of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship, until an unexpected high-side ended his potential for a top-eight finish at Phillip Island in Australia today. The Spaniard qualified on the third row of the grid in his debut race for Yamaha’s Official Team, having found more confidence on his R1 WorldSBK in Free Practice 3 this morning. With a good race start as the lights went out this afternoon, Vierge was

Xavi Vierge and Andrea Locatelli began the first round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship in earnest with Friday Free Practice at Phillip Island in Australia today. An additional Pirelli tyre option for the race weekend, differing from the test earlier in the week, meant a new “starting position” for both Pata Maxus Yamaha riders when the pit lane opened this morning for Free Practice 1. Finishing the day P10 on FP2’s timesheet, Vierge was pleased with the work comp

Xavi Vierge and Andrea Locatelli showcased the Pata Maxus Yamaha colours on track for the first time in 2026 “Down Under” during the two-day Official Test prior to the opening round of the FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Australia, which concluded today. With limited tyre options available, the eight hours of available track time across four two-hour sessions required a different approach to manage the allocation – and the compounds fo