The FIM Supersport World Championship has finally begun for 2024, with proceedings kicking off at the Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
The start of every MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship holds significant importance for many reasons, but the 2024 season has had some substantial talking points; from major rule changes, and switch ups on the grid, the Grand Ridge Brewery Australian Round had yet another curveball in the championship.
With trophies on offer, the podium set and TV, Radio, Journalists and Photographers cornering them, riders knew they had to put it all on the line for their first big race of the season.
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Ahead of the Grand Bridge Brewery Australian Round, it has been decided that the WorldSBK and WorldSSP races will take place under flag-to-flag rules, with a mandatory pit-stop and tyre change
While we thought this would be enough to surely secure the fastest combined time of the Official Test, Toprak Razgatlioglu put in his fastest time in the final lap of the session, firing down Gardner Straight to secure the best overall lap of a 1:28.511; 0.719 seconds faster than the current official lap record, held by Tom Sykes back in 2020.
It only took 23 laps for the outright Lap Record to be broken, by a Rookie nevertheless. Despite having never ridden a superbike nor his Ducati Panigale V4R around Phillip Island Circuit before, Nicolo Bulega [Aruba.it Racing – Ducati] was quick to fire in this history breaking time, which was made in just his 23rd lap around The Island, first posting a 1:28.962.
The moment that many have been waiting for, it’s time for the World Superbike field to take to the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for the final day of the official test before the season fires away.
It was Italian domination for Day 1, with Yari Montella [Barni Spark Racing Team] the one to beat on the opening day. Montella, who also topped FP1, charged his Ducati Panigale V2 around the 4.445km circuit to a new unofficial all time lap record, dipping into the 1:31’s to set the fastest time of the day, a 1:31.881.
While it was a slower start for riders to enter the circuit with Free Practice 1 totalling four hours of open track time for the 27-rider field, it was Stefano Manzi [Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing] who set the first blistering lap time of a 1:32.635 approximately two-hours into the session.
