Weekend of 'highs and lows' for Desmosport at The Bend

South Australia's 'The Bend' Motorsport Park provided plenty of challenges for the Desmosport Ducati team, with Anthony West forced out of action following a qualifying crash in tricky conditions. With an injured hand, it was decided the safest option would be for West to sit out the races and with the support of Elite Roads' Deon Coote, Olly Simpson was given the opportunity to pull double duty and step up to the Superbike class. With no real experience on the V4 R and no time for set up, Simpson made the most of the situation and completed both races for an impressive 10-8 result after starting from the back of the grid. Luca Durning continued his progression on the Panigale V4 R, solving setup problems and posting a consistent 14-14 finish. Simpson, who was defending his points lead in Next Gen Supersport, suffered the ultimate disappointment after crashing at the second turn of the opening race. This came after a dominant display in both practice and qualifying, which left him threatening the lap record. Simpson admitted later the low-side crash was his own mistake on cold tyres, with the frustration compounded by the bike catching the curb and flipping through the air - causing damage that ruled him out of race two. The team send Westy their best wishes and hope to see him at the next round of the championship which will be held at Morgan Park over May 29-31.

Olly Simpson #45
Superbike
Qualified: No time
Fastest Lap:1:52.303 (R2)
Results: 10-8

Championship Standing: 17th

Luca Durning #18
Superbike
Qualified: 18th (2:25.077)
Fastest Lap:1:55.841(R1)
Results: 14-14

Championship Standing: 13th

Olly Simpson #45
Next-Gen Supersport
Qualified: 1st (1:54.902)
Fastest Lap:1:54.058(FP3)
Results: DNF-DNS

Championship Standing: 3rd

DesmoSport Ducati Team Owner, Ben Henry: "This weekend was a tale of highs and lows, really. In the Next Gen class we had the perfect weekend until we didn't. We were the fastest in all the practice sessions, qualified on pole, fastest in the morning warmup but then on the first lap of the first race, it was all over. That's how it goes, it's a shame for us championship wise, an opportunity gone begging. We'll hustle, get some parts for the bike, get it back together and hopefully find our feet at Morgan Park in a few weeks and see if we can win some races. In Superbike, obviously, Westy hurt himself in qualifying. That wet qualifying was a hard time for everybody and of the 12 guys that made it through to Q2, six of them crashed - the track was that sketchy. We were all set up and ready to race, so we thought we would give Olly a go on the Superbike and it worked out really well. His ride in the second race was one of the rides of the day, in my opinion. He was super consistent - we gave him an opportunity and he made the most of it."

DesmoSport Ducati Rider, Olly Simpson: "It was an up and down weekend for us, really. On the V2, I started practice really well and was progressively getting faster and faster, approaching lap record pace. On the Saturday we had a rain affected qualifying but I still managed to put it on pole, which I was super happy about. I went into the races quite confident but unfortunately in race one I made a little mistake. The track was about 10 degrees cooler than the previous two days and I crashed at turn two, wrecking the bike for the rest of the weekend. That was a real bummer because we were really strong throughout the weekend, we had quite a gap and I was really confident for the races. But we can take a lot from this weekend and bring it to the next one, we've just got to try and win the rest of the races.
I've got to thank Deon Coote for the opportunity to jump on the superbike. I didn't have any practice before the races and I had to start from the back of the grid in both races in P19. I found my feet in race one and discovered a few changes I wanted to make but I still had a decent race, getting quicker and quicker. Race two I managed to get a better start and with the changes we made I immediately felt more comfortable and I feel like that with another five or six laps we could of been and running near the front. I've got to thank the whole team, Benny, Charlie, Deon and Ed who helped me on the superbike, it was a really great experience for me and I hope there's more to come."

DesmoSport Ducati Rider, Luca Durning: "This weekend was really good, we made great progress with the bike and worked out some problems with the suspension from the previous rounds. Qualifying didn't quite go my way with a little crash after my second flying lap. Race one and two were really good, I found some more pace and got my head down and finished both races despite a little mechanical issue in the last race. Happy to walk away with these results!"

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