The FIM Supersport World Championship set the grid on Friday for what will be a critical Race 1 for all three of the class’s title pictures. As wind picked up over the second half of the session, Can Oncu stuck the landing atop the timesheets for the fifth time this season, followed by a resurgent Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) in P2 and Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing), who led a trio of Triumph machines on the timesheets with his second front row appearance in 2026. Albert Arenas's (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) Championship hopes look good as his main rival, Debise, will start from down on the sixth row with titles on the line on Saturday.
ONCU TAKES YAMAHA’S SEVENTH POLE OF THE SEASON
Oncu continue his phenomenal Friday form in 2026 with a circuit-record-setting 1’39.011s time. He will look for a maiden win at the Portuguese venue on Saturday. French rider Mahias took his fifth front-row appearance this season with a 1’39.057s time, just under five hundredths behind the Turk. The #94 sits in P12 in the Championship and will try to break back into the top ten this weekend in Portugal. Booth-Amos took third place at Estoril after landing P9 qualifications in the last two rounds. He clocked in just shy of a tenth of the #61 on pole for his first front row finish since his dominant home round at Donington Park.
BAYLISS AND VOSTATEK TO THE SECOND ROW
Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) looks to be returning to form after missing Magny-Cours with injury, with his best result of P13 at Cremona as he returned to fitness. At Estoril, he closed Friday in P4 just under half a tenth behind his British teammate. Hot on his tail, Czech rider Ondrej Vostatek (Compos Racing Team) continues to put the pieces together, building on his season-best Superpole result with a P5 at Estoril after a P7 last round. Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing Yamaha) continued his terrific recent run of form, snagging P6 for his second-best result this season.
A STRONG FIRST IMPRESSION FROM FERNANDEZ
Wildcard rider Eric Fernandez (Cerba Yamaha Racing Team) announced himself to the paddock with an impressive P7 in his maiden Superpole event. Four hundredths behind the Spaniard, Dominique Aegerter (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) kept the ball rolling at Estoril as the Swiss rider took P8 for his best Superpole result of 2026 so far. Championship leader Albert Arenas fell to the third row in P9. With Debise’s poorer result back in P17, however, it was still a strong result for the Spaniard’s title hopes. Rounding out the top ten, Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) finished two hundredths off the #75 and will look to move up on Saturday as he races for a 2027 seat. Back in P17, Valentin Debise saw gravel early in the session at Turn 12, which cost him the better part of the session as his team scrambled to repair the bike. He later returned, but he will start from the sixth row on Saturday. Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) perhaps struggled even more than the Frenchman, tumbling to P20, and he will have some heavy lifting in Race 1 if he wants to fortify his 36-point Riders’ Championship lead over Oncu.
The top six from the WorldSSP Tissot Superpole session: full results here!
- Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) 1’39.011
2. Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) +0.046s
3. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +0.099s
4. Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) +0.148s
5. Ondrej Vostatek (Compos Racing Team) +0.186s
6. Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing Yamaha) +0.238s
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