West makes strong first impression as Simpson hits the top step

The 2026 Australian Superbike Championship opening round has been completed with Anthony West making strong progress on the Desmosport Ducati Panigale V4 R, finishing sixth overall after challenging for the podium over three tight races. West showed excellent pace after topping free practice and was encouraged with a P4 start from the grid, however a difficult start off the line after trouble engaging the launch control system made the opening race difficult for an eventual P7. A treacherous race two in mixed conditions proved the confidence is coming for West, who set the fastest lap of the race and ran at the front to improve to P6 where the top seven were covered by less than one second. The final race was also a nail biter as rain began to fall in the later stages where West ran as high as second in another tight run to the line in P5. Luca Durning started his season by qualifying in fifteenth, improving his position several places in every race to take thirteenth overall amongst some much more experienced company. 

Olly Simpson made the best possible start to his season in Next Gen Supersport, overcoming a lack of track time to take two wins from three races. After clinching the opening encounter, Simpson was in the thick of the action in a wild race two for second before digging deep in the drying third race. As the tyres protested with several corners to run, Simpson relinquished the lead but showed impeccable race craft, judging his run to the line to win in a photo finish. After a strong first round from the team, the next outing will be at Sydney Motorsport Park under lights over March 27-29.

Anthony West #13

Qualified: 4th (1:31.301)
Fastest Lap: 1:31.301 (Q)
Results: 7-6-5, 6th Overall

Championship Standing: 6th

Luca During #18

Qualified: 15th (1:34.690)
Fastest Lap: 1:34.690(Q)
Results: 14-13-13, 13th Overall

Championship Standing: 13th

Olly Simpson #45

Qualified: 4th (1:35.300)
Fastest Lap:1:35.013(R1)
Results: 1-2-1, 1st Overall

Championship Standing: 1st

DesmoSport Ducati Team Owner, Ben Henry: "That's an awesome result for the first round of 2026, all three guys were great and their heads are held high. Westy qualified P4 after being fastest in practice - at a track like this not being on the front row doesn't really matter. It's a progression though, and it's interesting to hear his feedback and then watch the bike and watch it all evolve. All weekend we were in the hunt for a podium and then in the last race we were into second place and the rain came. The two blokes that have been doing this for a while let the young guys go, basically. With Oli, we finished testing with a pretty beat up bike and that meant it wasn't totally reliable for the first practice session. We sorted those problems and Olly qualified fourth in pretty much his first laps since testing; then he hole-shotted every race. We've made a lot of changes to that bike over the weekend, and I still haven't found what we need to make it as good as it can be - so I'm really looking forward to the progression. Overall it was a great weekend, we're super happy and a big thanks to everyone that has helped out."

DesmoSport Ducati Rider, Anthony West: "There's been some mixed emotions this weekend, my first with Desmosport Ducati. I love the bike and the team, everyone has been working really well together and is super professional. It's been frustrating though because this Ducati is a proper race bike and there is a much narrower window to find the right setup. I've been finding my way over the weekend and in the last race I felt like me again, I felt really good with the bike, making some wild passes. All in all, it's been a very positive first weekend and I'm very grateful for the chance to ride this Ducati."

DesmoSport Ducati Rider, Luca Durning: "Race one was fine, we made a few changes for the second race but conditions were less than ideal with rain all morning and a drying track. It made for some pretty tricky conditions and rain was in the air for the third race as well. The conditions didn't help in getting setup sorted, but I feel like we are making progress every time I swing my leg over the bike. With two laps to go it started to rain again but we made our way to thirteenth in race three which was a good way to end the weekend."

DesmoSport Ducati Rider, Olly Simpson: "It was a really good weekend and we ended up on top overall. The races went really cleanly for us, I felt really comfortable on the bike. We made some changes for race two and once again we had a really good battle, I just got a bit unlucky with positioning and in the final few laps I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Race three we were on wets on a drying track and it was hectic until the end, my timing was just right and it felt great to grab that win!"

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

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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