West in the fight while Simpson maintains points lead at SMSP

Sydney Motorsport Park was the venue for round two of the 2026 Australian Superbike Championship where Anthony West has improved his championship position, Luca Durning improved his lap time by over 4.5 seconds and Olly Simpson secured back-to-back podiums despite a rain affected practice and qualifying before two dry races on Saturday night. The championship now heads to The Bend for round three to be held over May 1-3. 

Anthony West #13

Qualified: 7th (1:31.221)
Fastest Lap:1:30.017 (R2)
Results: 10-5

Championship Standing: 5th

Luca During #18

Qualified: 18th (1:38.757)
Fastest Lap:1:33.315(R2)
Results: 16-14

Championship Standing: 13th

Olly Simpson #45

Qualified: 6th (1:33.854)
Fastest Lap:1:33.172(R1)
Results: 2-3

Championship Standing: 1st

DesmoSport Ducati Team Owner, Ben Henry: "I always enjoy the night round at SMSP, the atmosphere is great and the crowds fantastic. We started off a little bit steady with Westy for a few different reasons, but the last race was really positive. I love watching where he can put the bike, he rides it so well. I know we're not racing with the guys a few seconds up the road, but you can see the podium, it's right there in front of us. Ant is riding unreal and I'm happy for him and the team. Luca also rode really well, coming off the back of second in the New Zealand Superbike Championship. His progression was excellent, he posted a 1min 33.3 lap in the last race. His learning rate is excellent and if it was a longer event he would of been even faster. Olly had a tougher weekend, he feels like SMSP isn't his strongest track but to be honest, he's a good motorbike rider and it doesn't matter where you go, the good guys are the good guys. As a team we are just missing a small part in getting the bike to finish the turn a little bit better but we did find a little bit of speed on the straight. We lost a few points but we are still in the championship lead and from now on the tracks are better suited to Olly."

DesmoSport Ducati Rider, Anthony West: "It's been a weekend where we finished off pretty good but we want to go back and restart and do it again. We found a few issues with the bike and I found a few issues with myself. I'm changing a little bit of how I ride the bike which is starting to help, but it's been a frustrating weekend. The last race made up for everything, I was able to fight and pass people. The last lap was interesting, it was a bit loose but fun in the end because the result wasn't too bad. I'm enjoying the team and enjoying the bike, we are getting to know each other better another race in. We know the result should be better but it's not easy, we will get there!"

DesmoSport Ducati Rider, Luca Durning: "I was really happy with the improvement in lap times this weekend at SMSP, but really, we were up against it with the weather in qualifying with not enough dry laps to find a good setting. To pick up 4.6 seconds per lap between qualifying and the first race felt great, I feel like we are making progress and improving."

DesmoSport Ducati Rider, Olly Simpson: "This weekend at SMSP was definitely a steep learning curve for myself and the team. We struggled a little bit at the start until I found my feet. Qualifying didn't quite go to plan getting caught up in traffic...my pace was good, I just didn't get to post a decent lap time. Race one was good, I got away with Tom and I was pretty happy with my pace at the end of the race. We struggled a little bit more in race two, there are a few setup changes we need to work on but we just have to keep doing laps on the bike to figure it out. Next round is at Tailem Bend, which is my home race. I've done plenty of laps around there so it should be good!"

Anthony West #13
Superbike Championship Standing: 5th

R1: Phillip Island
Qual.: 4th | Races: 7-6-5

R2: Sydney Motorsport Park
Qual.: 7th | Races: 10-5

R3: The Bend
Coming up next

Luca Durning #18
Superbike Championship Standing: 13th

R1: Phillip Island
Qual.: 15th | Races: 14-13-13

R2: Sydney Motorsport Park
Qual.: 18th | Races: 16-14

R3: The Bend
Coming up next

Olly Simpson #45
Next Gen SuperSport Championship Standing: 1st

R1: Phillip Island
Qual.: 4th | Races: 1-2-1

R2: Sydney Motorsport Park
Qual.: 6th | Races: 2-3

R3: The Bend
Coming up next

For full results, head to www.Computime.com.au

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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