Riders sent 2025 out with a bang as they partook in the final test event of 2025. With the grid’s full-time riders provisionally set. Teams’ focus shifts now to how they can get every bit out of their packages as they can before the first round of the 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island, kicking off on February 20th, 2026. In Jerez, once again it was a sunny- albeit cold- day, providing teams in attendance a full day of track time to improve their setups. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) didn’t need day 1 to prove his speed on Day 2, and he was tailed closest by Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who were each less than four tenths behind.
BIMOTA SHOWING SIGNS OF PROGRESS: Alex Lowes P1, Bassani P6
While they didn’t participate in Day 1, Bimota showed again that their KB998 Rimini’s late-season form was no fluke. Alex Lowes ran an emphatic 76 laps, tied for the most of any rider, and his fastest time around of 1’37.825s was faster than Nicolo Bulega’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fastest lap in Race 1 and Race 2 at the same circuit in 2025. Finishing in P6, with a best time of 1’38.584s, Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) welcomed a new crew chief, Uri Pallares, into his box, the experienced name making the move to work with ‘El Bocia’ after the retirement of his long-time rider, Jonathan Rea.
YAMAHA FILL OUT THE FRONT POSITIONS AGAIN: Two Yamaha bikes in the front four positions
Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the fastest on the timesheets as he continues to adapt to Yamaha blue from his four-year Honda stint. His 1’38.058s time placed him P2, just under a quarter of a second slower than Alex Lowes at the top of the timesheets. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the second quickest rider in blue, finishing fourth on the order, with his time of 1’38.134s just four thousandths slower than van der Mark as he and his team experimented with different geometric settings on their chassis and slight changes to his bike’s swingarm. Additionally, Locatelli spent the two-day test working for the first time with new crew chief Giuilo Nava after he moved from Aruba.it Racing- Ducati, where he won two World Championships with Alvaro Bautista. Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) on Day 2 didn’t run as many laps as in Day 1, but his 1’38.606s time saw him place in the same spot as he landed seventh-fastest.
BMW CONTINUING TO FIND FOOTING: ‘Petrux’ improves to P5
Once again, Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) flexed his familiarity with the bike, finishing third fastest and putting in a solid two days of work for his team, running a total of 150 laps and finished in third. While van der Mark’s time of 1’38.126s was quicker than each of their new riders, Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had similar times and now have more laps under their belt atop the M 1000 RR as they begin to mesh with new electronics engineer Christophe Lambert, who joins from Bimota. For Oliveira, his crew chief is similarly new to the team, as Andrew Pitt will hope to strike up a strong relationship in the months to come. In their second and final day at Jerez, Petrucci finished in P5 with a time of 1’38.470s, ahead of Oliveira who clocked in at 1’38.890s to place eighth-fastest.
FAMILIARISATION CONTINUES FOR HONDA: Chantra and Dixon put on similar performances
Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) finished the day as the faster of the full-time rider pair by 0.314s, as his time of 1’39.494s placed him P9. Test rider Tetsuta Nagashima (HRC Test Team) finished next of the Honda machines, clocking a 1’39.609s for P10, ahead of Jake Dixon (Honda HRC), who took home P11 through his best lap of 1’39.808s. The #96 and #35 followed a plan mainly focused on getting to know the bike, and they will be happy to know that their times improved over the test.
WORLD SUPERSPORT WORKING FOR 2026: Alcoba finds his Spanish Round form in the Jerez Test
Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) was fastest of the World Supersport riders despite a late red-flag-inducing crash between turns 12 and 13. His 1’42.167s time outpaced Day 1’s fastest rider, Corentin Perolari (Honda Racing World Supersport) by five hundredths, and 2025 MotoE rider Mateo Ferrari (WRP Racing) by 0.214s. Dominique Aegerter (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) continued his boot camp with his new ZX-6R 636, placing fourth fastest of the WorldSSP bikes and a fastest lap of 1’43.492s. Rounding out the WorldSSP riders who participated: Ana Carrasco (Honda Racing World Supersport) was fifth-quickest, clocking in at 1’44.077s, followed by Rookie Ricardo Rossi (Renzi Corse) with a 1’44.135s, and Petr Svoboda (WRP Racing), who logged a 1’44.697s fastest lap.
The combined top six permanent grid riders from both days of the Jerez Test:
1 Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 1’37.825s
2. Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +0.233s
3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +0.309s
4. Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.645s
5. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.759s
6. Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.781s
