The Phillip Island circuit in Australia has staged the final pre-season test ahead of the opening round of the 2025 Superbike World Championship, which will take place at the same track this coming weekend.

British rider Tarran Mackenzie benefits from already knowing the Australian circuit and the CBR1000RR-R, but these final tests have provided the PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda Team with important data and references. Completing a total of 44 laps in dry, sunny conditions on Monday 17, Tarran and his technicians made a series of adjustments to the setup of his bike, which saw him improve on his lap times as the day went on. Back to work on Tuesday, Mackenzie made another 15 laps but suffered a crash at Turn 6 in the latter stages. While the rider was fortunately unhurt, the bike sustained damage, which his technicians worked hard to repair as quickly as possible. Though keen to make the most of the final afternoon session, wet track conditions meant that Tarran ultimately elected to remain in the garage, along with most of the rest of the SBK field.

Championship rookie Zaqhwan Zaidi made his first exit during this final phase of the test. Tasked with getting to grips with a tricky new racetrack and new machinery, the Malaysian faces a steep learning curve this week. The rain and wet track unfortunately meant that Zaidi had little chance to learn the track layout today, though the rider looks forward to making his official WorldSBK debut come Friday.

The test complete, attention now turns to the upcoming race weekend. The WorldSBK race schedule remaining unchanged, with Friday’s practice sessions to be followed by the Superpole qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, while the Superpole Race and Race 2 will round out the weekend on Sunday. Running over a distance of 20 laps, Race 1 and Race 2 will adhere to the flag-to-flag format, due to the fact that the FIM and DWO have set a maximum limit of 11 laps for the rear tyre in the SBK category.

Tarran Mackenzie

“This morning’s session was very useful, as we figured out a few things between Monday and Tuesday’s sessions and had more of an understanding as to where we need to improve. Unfortunately, I had a little crash, which put a premature end to that session and then unluckily, it rained on and off during the afternoon session which meant we weren’t able to get any laps in at all. The positive thing is that we have more of a direction heading into the race weekend. Yesterday’s track time was valuable and now we look ahead to this first round, when we’ll do our best to start the 2025 season on a high.”

Zaqhwan Zaidi

“It wasn’t my day today, as it started to rain just before I could head out for my first ever session. I went out on track but didn’t have chance to complete more than one lap. I think this track is unique and so I need more time to understand and interpret it. I know I have a lot to learn, so my aim is to use this weekend to begin getting to grips with the bike, adapt to this circuit, and also learn from the other riders, who are all very competitive. I’m looking forward to getting started for real on Friday.”

Track information:

Country: Australia
Name: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
Length: 4.445 km
Pole position: left
Corners: 7 left-hand, 5 right-hand

SBK RECORDS: Best lap – Bulega (Ducati) 1'28.564 (2024). Superpole – Bulega (Ducati) 1'27.916 (2024).

2024 SBK RESULTS:

Race 1 - 1. Bulega (Ducati); 2. Locatelli (Yamaha); 3. Iannone (Ducati)
Superpole race – 1. Lowes (Kawasaki); 2. Locatelli (Yamaha); 3. Razgatlioglu (BMW)
Race 2 - 1. Lowes (Kawasaki); 2. Bautista (Ducati); 2. Petrucci (Ducati)

 
Weekend schedule (CET+10):

Friday
11.20 - 12.05 – SBK Timed Practice 1
16.00 - 16.45 – SBK Timed Practice 2

Saturday 
10.00 – 10.20 – SBK Free Practice
13.00 – 13.15 – Superpole
16.00 – SBK Race 1

Sunday
10.30 – 10.40 – SBK Warm-up
13.00 – SBK Superpole race
16.00 – SBK Race 2