Desmosport Ducati's Olly Simpson prepared for 'double duty' at Morgan Park

This weekend Morgan Park will host round four of the 2026 Australian Superbike Championship, with the team once again calling on Olly Simpson to take on double duties and ride both the Superbike and Next Gen Supersport classes. Following a short test at Queensland Raceway last weekend, regular Superbike rider Anthony West made the decision to rest his right hand after sustaining injuries during qualifying at The Bend. With the injury still too recent to race at 100%, Ant made the call after testing to step aside, making way for Simpson to ride the Elite Roads-backed DesmoSport superbike at round four. Simpson acquitted himself well on his Superbike debut at The Bend, starting from the rear of the grid without any practice or qualifying sessions to finish in the top ten. After posting times in practice and qualifying that were simply a cut above the rest of the field, Next Gen Supersport was an opportunity missed for Simpson at The Bend. With the team working around the clock since then to repair the Desmosport Ducati Panigale V2 the goal is solid redemption. Superbike teammate Luca Durning worked hard for his 14-14 result last time out and will look to advance up the timesheets at Morgan Park in a Superbike field that is stacked with depth. You can watch all the action live via the ASBK live stream on Sunday from 9:40am and live on SBS and Stan Sport from 1:00pm.

DesmoSport Ducati Team Owner, Ben Henry: "The Bend didn't turn out the way we had all hoped and since then, we've been working to repair crash damage. It's been a long, busy process but the good news is that I'm confident we will have three competitive bikes on the grid at Morgan Park. The bad news is that Westy still cannot ride at 100%. We completed a brief test at Queensland Raceway last Sunday, but the pain was still too great and doctors have advised him to sit this one out. We feel like Olly did a great job at The Bend in challenging circumstances and we are all keen to see what he can do on the V4 R with a few sessions of practice and qualifying. Luca continues to improve, he is grinding out the laps and we know he can keep moving forward at Morgan Park. It's been a challenging few weeks, but we're ready for this!"

Manager of Desmosport Ducati Elite Roads SBK - Deon Coote: "Anthony's wellbeing is the priority and it was a testament to his determination that he even rode last weekend. The pain must have been intense, but he's a racer at heart and he wants to compete. We're lucky to have such a strong option within our own wider team and I'm grateful to Olly for stepping up and we're looking forward to a strong weekend with him on board. We can't wait to have Ant back at Queensland Raceway in front of his home crowd."

DesmoSport Ducati Rider, Olly Simpson: "That was an unusual way to make my Superbike debut, but it was really something else to ride at my home track on the Desmosport Ducati Elite Roads superbike. Going straight out into the races without practice or qualifying was a challenge, but I feel like we did a good job there. The crash on the DesmoSport V2 in Next Gen Supersport was difficult to deal with...we were so well placed after qualifying but it only fuels the fire to come back stronger this weekend. Winning the championship is still possible

mathematically, but it needs some luck. Benny and the team have been flat out to get the bike race ready, I'm very grateful to them for their work. Westy has also been really supportive which means a lot, and while I'm pumped to be back on the Superbike this weekend, the whole team is hoping he will be fit and ready for the final round at Queensland Raceway."

DesmoSport Ducati Rider, Luca Durning: "We keep improving every round, but we really need to work on starting out weekends stronger. I'm constantly reacquainting myself with the bike in the first few sessions after racing at home in New Zealand on a different brand of bike and tyre, so I'm working on improving that adaptation. Morgan Park is a very different track to The Bend and one I'm looking forward to attacking this weekend."

On-Track Schedule (AEST)

Superbike

Friday

Free Practice 1 - 10:35am (30 mins) 

Free Practice 2 - 1:30pm (30 mins) 

Free Practice 3 - 3:15pm (30 mins) 

Saturday

Free Practice 4 - 10:05am (30 mins) 

Qualifying - 1:20pm (20 mins) 

Qualifying 2 - 1:50pm (15 mins) 

Sunday 

Warm up - 9:15am (10 mins) 

Race 1 - 11:25am (16 Laps) 

Race 2 - 2:40pm (16 Laps)

Next Gen Supersport

Friday

Free Practice 1 - 10:05am (25 mins) 

Free Practice 2 - 12:10pm (25 mins) 

Free Practice 3 - 2:25pm (25 mins) 

Saturday

Qualifying - 9:10am (25 mins) 

Qualifying 2 - 11:55am (25 mins) 

Sunday

Warm up - 9:05am (5 mins) 

Race 1 - 10:25am (14 Laps) 

Race 2 - 2:00pm (9 Laps)

Watch all the action on Saturday: 

SBS Sport & Stan Sport from 9:30am 

ASBK Live Stream from 1:00pm 

Watch the Live Timing: www.computime.com.au 

Image Credit: RBMotoLens

2026 Australian Superbike Championship

• Round 1: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, VIC Feb 20-22
• Round 2: Sydney Motorsport Park, NSW Mar 27-28
• Round 3: The Bend Raceway, SA May 1-3
• Round 4: Morgan Park Raceway, QLD May 29-31
• Round 5: Queensland Raceway, QLD Jun 26-28