More MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship history was made at the Circuito Estoril as the series descended on Portugal for the penultimate round of the season. The Tissot Estoril Round provided plenty of action across the three WorldSBK races, with highs and lows up and down the grid.
BULEGA CONTINUES MAKING HISTORY
It was back to business as usual for Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), who stormed to an Estoril hat-trick. It’s the ninth time this season he’s completed the treble, already a record, and it took his 2026 win tally up to 29; breaking the previous record for wins in a season, which was 27 set by Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) in 2023. His 62-point haul from Portugal also moved on home to 664 points this season, breaking Jonathan Rea's record for points in a single campaign; Rea scored 663 in 2019.
SURRA’S PODIUM FORM CONTINUES
Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) took his maiden podium last time out at Cremona and then backed that up with three more at Estoril. In Race 1, he ran in third place for every lap bar the opening one when he was in fourth; he passed Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) for P3 to move into the rostrum spots. In the Tissot Superpole Race, it looked like he’d lose out to Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), but a late spurt from the #67 allowed him to pass the home hero on the final lap for P3. In Race 2, Bautista had the advantage, but he crashed at Turn 1 with just a handful of laps to go, promoting Surra onto the rostrum. Even without the #19’s fall, P3, P3 and P4 would’ve marked Surra’s best weekend in WorldSBK so far, but the Race 2 rostrum just made it that little bit better for the rookie.
RESULTS DON’T MATCH THE PACE
Both Oliveira and Bautista could have left Estoril with more. Portuguese star Oliveira, who had Turn 7 named after him ahead of the round, narrowly missed out on a podium in the Superpole Race. In Race 2, he ran wide at Turn 6 on the opening lap and had to battle his way up to eighth. The good thing for both Oliveira and BMW is that there was podium pace, it just didn’t quite translate into the results. It was similar for Bautista. The #19 was P6 in FP1, P9 in FP2 and P8 in FP3 – some of his strongest practice results this season. In Tissot Superpole, the two-time WorldSBK Champion managed 12th, his best since Hungary. Ninth in Race 1 was followed by fifth in the Superpole Race, and he was running in third before his late crash at Turn 1 caused heartbreak for him and Barni Ducati.
LOSING OUT IN THE BATTLE FOR BRONZE
Despite a tough weekend for Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), the #5 wrapped up the Best Independent Rider for 2026 and now has a tight grip on third in the standings – partially due to Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) not getting the results he normally does (his best at Estoril was P10 in the Superpole Race, while his best points-scoring ride was P11 in Race 1) and Alex Lowes crashing from seventh place in Race 2 at Turn 4. With 62 points available at Jerez, Montella has a 53-point advantage over Alex Lowes, while Sam Lowes is 65 back from the #5 and now too far back to finish in third. He’ll be hoping to usurp his brother to claim fourth in the Championship.
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