Italian rookie Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) is pushing full throttle to the end of his debut 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign. Round 10 at Cremona brought his maiden rostrum result in dramatic fashion at home, and the Tissot Estoril Round looks to be the next rung on the ascendant rookie’s ladder, as he took his first podium in a long race at the Circuito Estoril.

“STEP BY STEP, I THINK ANOTHER PODIUM IS POSSIBLE. I DON’T KNOW IF IT WILL BE AT ESTORIL, BUT I KNOW IT’S POSSIBLE”

Surra narrowly missed a spot in the front row after Alex Lowes (Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) set a time just eight hundredths faster than the Italian’s Tissot Superpole session time. Starting from P4 in the afternoon’s Race 1, he made hay early and passed the British Bimota rider on Lap 2 to take third place. He kept it clean from there, growing his one-second gap ahead of Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) on Lap 4 to just shy of two seconds by Lap 12. A sign of further growth for the rookie was his race management: while he saw his pace decline sharply over the closing laps, particularly in long races, he went on to hold off the Portuguese MotoGP race winner in his home round and finish 1.8 seconds ahead of the #88.

On his Race 1 podium, Surra said: “I’m really happy with my first podium in a long race. It’s even more emotional; it’s fantastic. I want to thank my team, they’re my second family. I have a great relationship with them. In this moment, I’ve been in a good mentality. Before Cremona, we improved the setup and something on the electronics. Now I have good feedback on the bike, and, step by step, I think another podium is possible. I don’t know if it will be at Estoril, but I know it’s possible.”

“I DON’T THINK A WIN IS POSSIBLE YET, BUT IT’S STILL THE DREAM”

With his sophomore seat already secured for 2027, and all of the 2026 season’s titles already decided, Surra has a rare opportunity to ride free of pressure and attack the top positions over the final five races of the season. He feels the podium is well within his grasp and has proven it over the last two rounds, despite the best efforts of powerhouse riders Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) and Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team). Keeping his feet on the ground, however, the young Italian was quick to keep expectations realistic as he doesn’t feel he has the pace to fight for the win against Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and his teammate Iker Lecuona just yet.

On his expectations for the rest of this season, and whether he feels a maiden win is in the cards in 2026, Surra said: “I don’t think a win is possible yet, but it’s still the dream, but I’m staying focused for my best results race by race. Nicolo and Iker still have a really good package, and they are really fast riders. I’m a rookie, so I want to keep going step by step.”

Tune in Live and OnDemand to catch the impressive rookie’s final five races, and he will return on Sunday at Estoril in the Tissot Superpole Race, kicking off at 11:10 (Local Time UTC +1). Stream it all with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now just €9.99!