Ducati team-mates Nicolo Bulega and Alvaro Bautista get podium finishes in the opening race of 2025.

After four months without any racing, the wait for the 2025 World Superbike season finally ended on Saturday where the opening round of the year commenced from Phillip Island, Australia.
Ahead of the 2025 Australian Round, it had been confirmed that the WorldSBK and WorldSSP races would follow a flag-to-flag format, requiring all riders to make a mandatory pit stop for tyre changes. This decision comes in response to concerns regarding the unpredictable weather and wide range of track temperatures expected at Phillip Island from February 21st to 23rd.

Combined with the circuit’s unique layout and challenging surface, these factors have necessitated this precautionary measure to ensure the safety and competitiveness of the event. Following extensive analysis of the circuit’s characteristics, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and Dorna WSBK Organization (DWO) determined that rear tyres must not exceed 11 laps for the WorldSBK class, as a result the race distances for WorldSBK Race one and Race two would be set at 20 laps, with riders allocated two additional sets of tyres for the weekend.

Nicolo Bulega qualified on pole position and after claiming the hole-shot into the first turn, never looked challenged as the Italian claimed victory aboard his Aruba Ducati. Finishing 4.811s behind the dominant Bulega, BMW’s defending World Superbike Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu ensured he started his defence with a strong result and was the only non-Ducati rider in the top six positions.

The final step on the podium belonged to the second of the two Aruba Ducati’s, 2022 and 2023 World Superbike champion Alvaro Bautista.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) weathered assaults from a resurgent Scott Redding and rival Andrea Iannone to finish P4 and once again finished top among Independent riders in P4. Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) showed glimpses of his 2021 Ducati-riding form in Race one, leapfrogging Bautista and Toprak at points to take P3, however a late move from Petrucci in Turn one of Lap 18 narrowly prevented him from claiming the day’s top Independent position. Andrea Iannone (Team GoEleven) looked strong to start the contest, claiming P2 exiting the first corner of Lap 1.

‘The Maniac’ lost much of this early momentum however as he appeared to have an issue with his bike in Turn 4 of Lap 2, dropping from P2 to P6 in an instant as he hesitated entering the corner. Later on in the early running, he showed similar signs of a problem with his setup as he ran wide into Turn one of Lap three. Much of his best riding on the day came after the pit stop, where he recuperated positions to finish P6.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) carried the Yamaha flag in Race one, representing for his team after team-mate Johnathan Rea suffered multiple foot fractures in testing earlier this week.

The Italian rider came home in P7, finishing ahead of Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team). Lowes’s P8 and Axel Bassani’s (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) P9 atop the new KB998 Rimini is no small feat for the returning manufacturer and will provide a strong base result to improve upon as the season continues. Alex Lowes was assessed a 0.6s penalty for an early departure from the pit lane, a penalty which had he avoided, he would have been only 0.096s behind Locatelli.

Bassani especially has many positives he can take away from the race, his start in P14 nullified by strong riding taking up to P7 before his trip to the pits. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) finished in P10, claiming the spot from Xavi Vierge early in the race after a long battle which Lowes eventually came out on top.

Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) finished the season-opening Race 1 in P11 as his team-mate was ruled out with a broken metatarsal in his left foot in Free Practice 3. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the second-fastest Yamaha on the day as his teammate Remy Gardner was forced out with a technical issue. The Swiss rider finished 12th. In P13, Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) finished top among the 2025 rookies after a Yari Montella’s crash, and Zaqhwan Zaidi’s (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) failure to qualify, and Bahattin Sofuoglu’s P15 finish. Replacement rider Tetsuda Nagashima (Honda HRC) was filling in for the injured Iker Lecuona, and notched a P14 finish to score points for team Honda HRC. Still recovering from his broken collarbone suffered in preseason testing, Bahattin Sofuoglu was able to round out the point-scoring positions in P15.

Rounding out the grid who finished the race, Scotsman Tarran Mackenzie finished P16 for Petronas MIE Honda Racing Team
Italian Rookie Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) saw his first-ever WorldSBK Race end in after a single lap, taking a spill in Turn 1 of his second lap, a disappointment for the freshman rider as he had impressed in testing earlier this week. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) watched his first race in green from the pit as a tech issue ruled him out early.

Featured Image: WSBK.com