Nicolò Bulega led FIM Superbike World Championship Free Practice 3 (FP3) Saturday morning at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, in Australia. Riding his Aruba.It Racing – Ducati Panigale V4R on spec Pirelli tires, the Italian rider covered the 2.76-mile (4.45 km) track in 1:28.273 to lead the field of 21 riders.
Sam Lowes was second-best with a 1:28.575 on his ELF Marc VDS Ducati Panigale V4R.
Axel Bassani was third with a 1:28.722 on his Bimota by Kawasaki KB998 Rimini and his teammate Alex Lowes finished the session fourth with a lap tine of 1:28.742.
American Garrett Gerloff was fifth with a time of 1:28.743 on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR.
Danilo Petrucci was 9th on his ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team M1000RR with a time of 1:28.842.
More from a press release issued by Dorna:
Nicolo Bulega continued showing his pace in Australia as he topped Saturday morning’s FP3 session by more than three tenths.
The final practice session of the Australian Round concluded with Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) topping the times for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. The #11 has topped every session from the Official Test and the three Free Practice sessions at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, as he finished ahead of Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team).
Bulega made it a hat-trick of session-topping times in Free Practice 3 as he finished three tenths clear of his rivals, while also showing his consistent pace once again. His best time was a 1’28.273s as he beat Sam Lowes, with the #14 putting in a late lap to move into second ahead of Bassani. The Italian had been quick out of the blocks to set a 1’28.722s and secure a top-three spot in FP3, putting him in good stead for this afternoon’s Tissot Superpole session.
Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) ensured both Bimota riders were in the top four as he lapped just 0.020s slower than his teammate. All three Kawasaki-powered teams were in the top five, and all showing relatively similar pace. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) claimed P5 with a 1’28.743s, exactly 0.001s slower than the #22 ahead. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) closed the gap to teammate Bulega in the 20-minute session as the #7 finished in sixth, less than half-a-second down on the #11.
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) set a 1’28.788s as he finished in seventh, directly ahead of teammate Alvaro Bautista who was 0.050s away from Montella’s pace. Both BMW riders featured in the top ten in FP3. Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was the faster of the pair as he set a 1’28.842s, but there was little to separate him from Miguel Oliveira. 0.007s was the difference, in Petrucci’s favour.
The top six from WorldSBK FP3, full results here:
1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’28.273s
2. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +0.302s
3. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.449s
4. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.469s
5. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) +0.470s
6. Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.488s
Next up, Tissot Superpole! How will the first grid of 2026 look? Find out from 13:00 Local Time (UTC+11) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!
