Jaume Masia topped FIM Supersport World Championship Superpole qualifying Friday at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, in Australia. Riding his Orelac Racing Verdnatura Ducati Panigale V2 on Pirelli control tires, Masia lapped the 2.76-mile (4.45 km) course in 1:32.115 to top the field of 28 riders and earn pole position.

Oli Bayliss was the best of the rest with a 1:32.287 on his PTR Triumph Street Triple 765 RS, and Former MotoAmerica Supersport regular Valentin Debise earned the third and final spot on the front row with a lap time of 1:32.439 on his ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bross 820RR.

More from a press release issued by Dorna:

Four manufacturers in the top four as the WorldSSP season shoots out of the gate.

The 2026 FIM Supersport World Championship campaign is officially a go! The Australian Round saw the WorldSSP field throw down in this season’s first Tissot Superpole session, with Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) coming out on top to claim the season’s first pole position. The result is his second career pole in WorldSSP and has punched his ticket on Saturday to start from P1. Behind him, the front row will be comprised of to be tailed in P2 by home hero Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) and Valentin Debise (ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) in P3.

MASIA ON POLE TO START 2026: The Spanish sophomore will lead the pack in Race 1

Jaume Masia nailed the Superpole session after a dominant week of testing on the timesheets. The2023 Moto3 Champion makes it two career poles in WorldSSP as he continues to improve his case for title contender with a 1’32.115s lap. Oli Bayliss set the table for home weekend glory in his Tissot Superpole session. The Aussie rider set hot lap after hot lap to sit P1 early, doing enough to land P2 with his final time of 1’32.287s and his first WorldSSP front-row start. Valentin Debise (ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) started ZXMOTO’s WorldSSP story on a stunning note, his 1’32.439s time taking the new Chinese manufacturer to P3 to round out the front row.

BOOTH-AMOS’S TIME HOLDS ON: Despite seeing the chequered flag from the medical centre, his time sees him to a P5 placement

Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) looked a step faster than what he had shown earlier in the week during testing, battling for the front row on the timesheet, but will have to settle for leading the second row from P4 with his time of 1’32.450 seeing him a third of a second off of P1 pace. Tom Booth-Amos was running as the latter of a Triumph one-two at the session’s midpoint until a Turn 11 highside crash caused a red flag and sent him to the medical centre to end his session. As faster times piled up, the Englishman and his 1’32.554s time fell to P5. Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) hovered around P8 throughout the session, until he returned to the boxes with eight minutes left to make a final adjustment for one last stint. Those changes helped him to a 1’32.617s for an improved P6.

NO PROBLEMS ADAPTING: Arenas goes third-row in first-ever WorldSSP Superpole

Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) looks to have found a step on Friday as he converted his Free Practice P5 into a Tissot Superpole P7. His 1’32.673s time will see him start his first WorldSSP race from the third row. Matteo Ferrari (WRP Racing) was the top finisher of the field’s inbound former MotoE riders. He took P8 on the back of his impressive 1’32.710s time. Ondrej Vostatek again showed his affinity for the Australian circuit as he and his Ducati Panigale V2 clocked a 1’32.819s time to earn P9. Mattia Casadei (D34G WorldSSP Racing Team) was the third rider to crash on the high-speed Turn 11 with just a minute to go. The Italian’s 1’32.827s time held on, however, to take P10.

TRICKY TURN 11: Three riders took a tumble on the fast corner

Oliver Konig’s (Compos Racing Team) tough day at the office on Friday continued after a tech issue that caused a red flag in Free Practice. In the Superpole session, he suffered a high-side crash on Turn 11, which sent him to the medical centre, where he was later ruled fit to continue. Roberto Garcia (GMT94 Yamaha) had a Turn 5 crash with 17 minutes left in the session, walking away unharmed.

The top six from the WorldSSP Tissot Superpole session: Full results here!

1. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) 1’32.115s

2. Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +0.172s

3. Valentin Debise (ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) +0.324s

4. Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) +0.335s

5. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +0.439s

6. Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) +0.502s

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