Race 2 of the Supersport World Championship at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit delivered pure unpredictability, as changing weather conditions flipped the script entirely on Sunday afternoon.

Following a heavy downpour during the previous ASBK session, the Phillip Island circuit was declared wet before World Supersport riders rolled onto the grid. With strong winds sweeping across the Island and dark clouds looming, teams faced the ultimate gamble; commit to wet tyres, or predict that the wind would dry the circuit quickly enough for slicks to come into play.

Mixed tyre choices across the grid set the tone for chaos, with Australia’s Oli Bayliss lining up from P2 for his first wet race of the 2026 season, opting in for the wet tyre option.

It was a strong launch from Philipp Oettl, while Bayliss’ start was steady. The Australian didn’t lose significant ground and worked his way into fourth by the first visit to Turn 11. Riders cautiously tip-toed through Turn 12 in the opening laps, feeling for grip as this marked their first wet laps around Phillip Island this weekend. Confidence began to build incrementally with each lap.

Bayliss, however, began to slip backwards as he searched for rhythm in the tricky conditions, and for his teammate, it was heartbreak again for Tom Booth-Amos, who ran off at Turn 1, compounding what had already been a challenging weekend.

The race was turned on its head on Lap 6 – with the race suddenly becoming a flag-to-flag.

With the rain easing and the racing line drying rapidly, riders began diving into pit lane to switch from wets to slicks. The decision reshuffled the entire order. Those who had gambled on starting on slicks, including Aldi Mahendra and Albert Arenas, suddenly found themselves in prime position, avoiding the time loss of a tyre change.

Race 1 winner Jaume Masia was among the last to pit for slicks, a costly delay that removed him from podium contention. Meanwhile, VFT’s Filippo Farioli capitalised on the switch, rejoining in 12th and building a steady gap to Oettl behind.

It was not to be a double podium weekend for Bayliss. Having started on wets, the Australian was caught out by the rapidly evolving track and ultimately slipped down the order despite showing strong pace once conditions stabilised.

Valentin Debise made the final tyre gamble of the race, holding out hope that the rain would return, which unfortunately, didn’t. The French rider’s strategy unravelled, ending what had otherwise been a promising debut weekend with the ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing squad.

There was further late heartbreak for Dominique Aegerter. After making the correct tyre call at the start and running strongly in fourth without needing a pit stop, the Swiss rider suffered a mechanical failure that ended a golden opportunity.

At the front, it was Arenas who held his nerve to secure an emotional maiden World Supersport victory on his debut weekend. The Spaniard completed a 1-2 result for the AS Racing Team alongside Mahendra in second; the former World Supersport 300 World Champion delivering a breakthrough result of his own. Matteo Ferrari completed the podium in third, also marking his first World Supersport podium finish.

The result marked a complete reversal of fortunes from Race 1. Masia crossed the line in 10th, Oettl in 11th, and Bayliss finished 12th. Despite the setback, Bayliss recorded the fastest lap of the race with a 1’32.452, underlining the pace that could have delivered another strong result had the tyre strategy of been different.