Xavi Cardelús Qualifies 17th for 2026 World Supersport Opener at Phillip Island

Andorran Supersport rider Xavi Cardelús qualified 17th for the opening round of the 2026 World Supersport Championship at Phillip Island in Australia after a tightly contested first Superpole session on Friday.

Cardelús, riding for the Cerba Yamaha Racing Team, held around 12th place midway through the session with his best lap of 1:33.126. He was unable to improve in the second run and slipped back, ending up one second off pole position set by Jaume Masià. The session saw 19 riders within the same second, and he will start from the sixth row of the grid for Saturday's and Sunday's races, both at 04:30 local time (early morning in Andorra).

The day began with a minor crash for Cardelús during the morning free practice. He returned to the track in the final minutes but sustained a bruised elbow that caused some discomfort, though he described it as having no serious physical consequences.

Ongoing rear grip issues continued to undermine his confidence, particularly when accelerating aggressively and losing the rear wheel. "We've been lacking trust due to the lack of rear grip," he said, echoing challenges from preseason testing earlier in the week. Those tests, held Monday and Tuesday, had shown progress on his new Yamaha after switching from Ducati. Rain had disrupted prior preparation, but he improved his times over two days to a best of 1:33.646 on the final afternoon session—still facing the grip problems shared by other Yamaha riders.

Cardelús had anticipated a tough weekend. "Considering how Monday and Tuesday's tests went, we knew it wouldn't be easy, and that's how it's started," he noted. Despite the setbacks, he remained optimistic, estimating they were four tenths off their potential position in the highly competitive field. With a warm-up session still ahead, he aims to fine-tune the setup before the races.