Garrett Gerloff in the top 10 on the first day

Garrett Gerloff and his Kawasaki WorldSBK Team worked well together on the first official day of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship season, with Garrett ninth fastest overall while making set-up progress with his Ninja ZX-10RR machine.

Phillip Island in Australia hosted two free practice sessions that marked the true beginning of the latest championship campaign – the second for the partnership of Gerloff and his Kawasaki WorldSBK Team.

After two days of testing at ‘PI’ earlier in the week, Garrett and his crew felt well-prepared to take on the 4.445km-long circuit in the FP1 and FP2 practice sessions. Ending up seventh in FP1, then ninth in the final combined times, Gerloff was 0.834 seconds from the fastest rider on Friday, but only 0.338 seconds from the rider in second place.

With day one complete, Gerloff is now ready to take on a third free practice session, the Superpole qualifying session and then a 22-lap Race One – all of which will take place on Saturday 21 February 2026.

Manuel Puccetti:

“A really good day. Gerloff has a very fast pace, and this leaves us confident for tomorrow’s race. We just need to work on the final sector where we can still improve. But we have everything we need to be competitive, run a good race and aim for something more than top ten.”

Garrett Gerloff:

“I am pretty happy with how things went today, finishing the morning’s FP1 session in the top seven. I think that is my best FP1 performance here. To finish inside the top ten at the end of day one is better than I have done here in most previous years. I still want to be closer to the top five but, in general, I am happy. I am really happy with all the work that the team is doing and the setting changes that we are making. I feel confident for tomorrow and Race One, we just need to put everything together and have a good day.”

A complicated start for Alcoba and Aegerter at Phillip Island

The first round of the Supersport World Championship began today at the Phillip Island Circuit in Australia. After the bad weather experienced during winter testing, riders Jeremy Alcona and Dominique Aegerter were finally able to get in some dry testing time earlier this week, while today they were out on track for free practice and Superpole.

In free practice, the Spaniard set a time of 1’33”016 while the Swiss rider put in a 1’33”556. In Superpole, which ran in higher temperatures, Alcoba was unable to improve on his earlier time (1’33”159) and placed nineteenth, which means a seventh row start for Saturday’s first race of the season. Aegerter (1’33”408) secured twenty-third position and a spot on the eighth row of the grid.

Manuel Puccetti:

“The team and riders worked hard again today to find a good setting and fast pace. We’re still making up for the time lost during winter testing and I’m sure we’ll be competitive soon. It won’t be an easy race tomorrow having to start further back, but Alcoba and Aegerter will give it their best shot as always.”

Jeremy Alcoba:

“We struggled today due to a lack of rear grip, and I finished nineteenth in the end, but both me and the bike have the potential to do a lot better. Now we need to analyse the data to make some improvements to the bike ahead of tomorrow’s first race. We’re using larger tyres here compared to last season and this doesn’t help us to be fast. Thanks to the team for their excellent work; despite starting further back on the grid, I’ll do my best to repay them with a good result.”

Dominique Aegerter:

“The results we achieved today are far from what we want. We’re closing the gap to the front, but we still have our work cut out. I’m not yet comfortable on the bike and need more time to ride, work with the team and find a good setup. We’re all working as hard as we can and the improvements are coming. For tomorrow’s race, we’ll try to collect more important data and give it our all. We’ll see what happens.”

Gerloff close to top ten in Race One

Garrett Gerloff took his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR to eighth place in Superpole qualifying at Phillip Island in Australia, and then recorded an 11th place finish in the first race of the year, on Saturday 21 February.

Kawasaki WorldSBK Team rider Gerloff started the first 22-lap race of the 2026 season from the third row of the grid, and raced for a top ten finish all the way to the chequered flag. Almost constantly fighting for track position, he started the final lap in tenth place, in close competition with Danilo Petrucci.

Ultimately, Garrett only just missed out on an early top ten race result, in his second year with Kawasaki in WorldSBK, by just 0.017 seconds.

With the first day of race action now complete at the classic 4.445km long circuit in Australia, Sunday 22 February will host two WorldSBK races. First, there will be the traditional ten-lap Tissot Superpole race, then the weekend will be wrapped up on track by the second 22-lap race, starting at 16.00 local time in Australia.

Manuel Puccetti:

“Gerloff ran a great race, consistently fighting for the top ten and only just missing out on it at the end. Considering this was our first race with the new Ninja ZX-10RR, we can be satisfied, but our potential is greater and so we hope to run two better races tomorrow.”

Garrett Gerloff:

“I feel good on the bike, I feel good with the team. I struggled at the end of the race with tyre life, so the team will hopefully improve that aspect tomorrow. I hope that we can find that improvement and be closer to the front.”

Top ten for Alcoba in first 2026 WorldSBK race

Kawasaki WorldSSP Team riders Jeremy Alcoba and Dominique Aegerter took part in the first FIM Supersport World Championship race of the 2026 season at the legendary Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, on Saturday 21 February.

Riding the latest WorldSSP spec Ninja ZX-6R 636, Alcoba had started the race from the sixth row of the grid, after he had been 19th quickest in Friday’s Superpole Qualifying session.

The Spanish rider, already a proven podium finisher during his rookie campaign for Kawasaki in 2025, moved upwards through the field in what was an 18-lap start-to-finish contest, with no mandatory pit stops for tyre changes. Jeremy’s tenth place earned him six valuable points at the first time of asking.

A double WorldSPP Champion in past seasons, Dominique had qualified 23rd, and would end up in that same position at the end of the 18-lap race. A technical issue at the end dropped him from 14th on the penultimate lap to 23rd at the end.

The second 18-lap WorldSSP Race of the PI weekend will take place on Sunday 22 February.

Manuel Puccetti:

“The practices and qualifying were difficult but we were able to finish top ten in Race 1 with Alcoba, while Aegerter was stopped by a technical problem at the very last corner, which denied him a points finish. Our potential is definitely higher, but we’re consistently improving and will soon reach the goals we’ve set ourselves.”

Jeremy Alcoba:

“We have the first race of the season in our pocket. It is not what I expected from the pre-season tests and it is not the kind of speed we finished with last season, so there is simply still a lot of work to do. But we are looking forward and the team is doing a really good job. We were struggling a bit in the race with rear grip. My start was good but in the first corner I had a little touch and that made me lose a lot of positions. To recover them was hard, but I was fighting in the second and third group. I tried to maintain my P10 position at the end, which is not bad, but not enough. I will try to make a better start in Race Two and with a little bit more grip we can make one or two steps forward.”

Dominique Aegerter:

“That was for sure not the race we expected, but we got a lot of data. We made it to all 18 laps but we got a little bit unlucky in the last corner, when the bike turned off. We need to find out what happened, exactly, but we are improving every time and we are closer to the front guys with the lap times. We are missing some testing kilometres on the bike so we just need to ride and ride to improve. We are not so far but the results don’t show that so well. On Sunday, we will have another chance and for sure in the second race I will try to get a good result and my first points with Kawasaki.”

Garrett Gerloff finishes P6 in his 200th WorldSBK race

Garrett Gerloff finished an excellent sixth in the ten-lap Superpole Race at Phillip Island on Sunday, 22 February, equalling his best result since he joined the Kawasaki WorldSBK Team last year. This was also his 200th race start in WorldSBK since he first joined the series in 2020.

The American rider took part in two races on the final day of race action at Round One of the new season. Garrett followed up his sixth place in the dry Superpole race with tenth place in the wet 22-lap Race Two.

Gerloff found a real set-up improvement from Saturday’s Race One, thanks to his feedback and the positive work put in by his technical crew. He was able to ride with the leading group of six early in the Superpole Race and finished just 4.250 seconds behind race winner Nicolo Bulega.

The wet second race was not quite so fruitful for Gerloff, but he still scored six valuable championship points.

Having scored in all three of his Australian races on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR, Gerloff leaves for round two 12th overall in the early championship rankings.

The next round for Garrett and his crew will be in Portugal, at the always popular Portimao circuit near the Algarve coast, between 27-29 March.

Manuel Puccetti:

“Gerloff’s sixth place in the Superpole race, his 200th SBK race, is definitely a great result, the best he’s achieved with us since the sixth place at Donington last year. Our rider ran a very strong race, finishing half a second from the podium which appeared within which. Race 2 was complicated by rain and by the track conditions, but Gerloff confirmed both his competitiveness and that of the bike, reaching the top ten.”

Garrett Gerloff:

“The weather was crazy on Sunday. Compared to how we finished yesterday, I am so much more happy with how we finished today. I am happy with our performance in the Superpole Race, mainly. I feel like we made a big step with the bike in general. I was feeling really good riding it, and in a good position for Race Two. I tried my best in the rain, and felt really good initially. Then as the pace dropped, and everybody started going faster and faster, I started having more and more ‘moments’ on the bike. I tried to keep up but was not able to. We got a top ten finish, so we will take it for now. I am really looking forward to the next round in Portimao.”

Changeable weather makes second WorldSSP race at Phillip Island difficult

The new-look Kawasaki WorldSSP Team found a wet track and uncertain weather prospects to deal with as Jeremy Alcoba and Dominique Aegerter lined up for the second 18-lap race of the weekend at Phillip Island.

With a damp track underneath and dark skies above, Alcoba opted to run a wet tyre and set-up combination, while Aegerter was one of the few who preferred to go with slick tyres, hoping that the track conditions would not deteriorate.

As it transpired, those who went for a dry set-up had the best of the 18-lap race, as most riders on a wet set-up pitted to change tyres at some stage.

Most riders opted for rain tyres at the start of the race, and many changed to another solution after just a few laps. Alcoba was one of those who changed tyres, and he would end up in ninth place on his Ninja ZX-6R 636, despite being given a time penalty and dropping one finishing position because he left pit lane just a fraction of a second early.

Aegerter was inside the top race rankings on his dry tyre option and was on course for a top four finish until his bike experienced a technical issue on the penultimate lap. He was unable to finish the race.

After the first round, Alcoba is overall tenth in the championship, with 13 points, while Aegerter is yet to score.

The next round will take place in Portimao, Portugal, between 27-29 March.

Manuel Puccetti:

“Luck was not on our side today. Aegerter made the right tyre choice, opting for slicks, and was running a great race that saw him battling for the podium. But he was unfortunately stopped by a technical problem two laps from the end. Alcoba, who instead went with rain tyres, made a pit stop and finished a very positive P9 considering the difficulties of the race.”

Jeremy Alcoba:

“Not the results that we expected after the pre-season, but I think we started well and took some important points. It is a long season. On Sunday the race was strange because of the weather. Our strategy was like for 90% of the riders, and we put in wet tyres. The skies looked like they were getting darker, so we couldn’t tell if it would be more wet or dry. Some riders took the risk to put in slick tyres, and they made a good choice. We took the risk the other way, but we did like almost all the others. I was fifth or sixth in the race, and feeling quite well, but I went into the box for tyres one lap late. The team did a really good job changing the tyres, but I was a fraction of a second early passing the exit line, so I was penalised by one tenth and lost one position in the final results. I am disappointed for this, but happy for the result.”

Dominique Aegerter:

“We were quite unlucky this weekend. In Race Two, with the team, we made a great decision to start with slick tyres. Of course, it is always a 50/50 chance, and there were always some small drops of rain. I think five or six riders decided to go out with slick tyres. I was running in fourth place but one lap from the end we had a technical problem. It is frustrating not to get any points out of our first weekend here in Australia, but this is racing and these things can happen. We need to keep thinking and stay strong together. We need to believe in ourselves so we can still have a great season together.”