The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship descended on the Circuito Estoril for Round 11 of the 2026 campaign. The Portuguese venue provided plenty of stories, from more records being broken, a home hero narrowly denied a podium and the future of two of the biggest personalities in the paddock. We’ve gathered the best quotes from the weekend’s debriefs for you…
“IT’S A PITY BECAUSE WE SHOWED THAT THE SPEED IS THERE AND WE’RE ALWAYS FIGHTING”
Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) was close to a rostrum return for the first time since Australia, before he crashed at Turn 1 from P3. He said: “It wasn’t a mistake, really. I didn’t do anything different, and I didn’t feel on the limit. On other laps, I was more on the limit. This time, I just crashed. Nothing special. It’s a pity because we showed that the speed is there and we’re always fighting. We never gave up. This season has been very tough for us. You only see the results but, in reality, we found many problems across the season. It hurts, but honestly, I'd rather crash like this than finish eighth. The bike was working more or less acceptably, and we fought with other riders. I don’t know about my future. Fortunately, I ride the bike again on Friday. I hope to find the feeling we finished with here and be competitive there and try to end the season as best as possible. I’m not worried about the future; I think I’m prepared for all kinds of circumstances. I feel strong, I feel like a good rider and I can fight for a good position in the Championship. I’d like to be a racing rider. I like racing!”
“IT WAS VERY SPECIAL TO RACE WITH ALVARO; FOR ME, HE’S ONE OF THE BEST RIDERS”
Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) claimed three podiums at Estoril and reflected on his fight for the rostrum with Bautista: “It’s the best weekend for me and my team! Oliveira in the Superpole Race was very fast, but Ducati and my team improved in the electronics after Race 1. I improved and I passed Miguel. In Race 2, Alvaro crashed and I got another P3. For me, I had a chance to fight against Alvaro, because I had very good grip with my rear tyre. At Turn 1, I went wide and he passed me. After that, I stayed in the slipstream, and I looked to see where I could pass. Alvaro had no grip. For me, it was possible to pass him, because at Turn 4 I had good grip. For my riding style, Jerez is not the best circuit. It was very special to race with Alvaro; for me he’s one of the best riders in WorldSBK.”
“AT ONE POINT, I WAS DREAMING ABOUT THE PODIUM…”
Reflecting on what could have been in the Tissot Superpole Race, Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) said: “I tried to gain the inside line, but I was boxed in a little bit and I couldn’t. Already, I was more behind than I expected. Then coming to Turn 6, I had a strange twitch on the kerb. I had to recover the bike position and ran wide. It was a bad first lap. The main problem is I can’t ride how I need to ride when I’m behind someone. We need to have slightly different lines, and I can’t brake as I need. At one point, I was dreaming about the podium, but I knew it was going to be difficult. I outbraked myself at Turn 3, I braked super late and squeezed the front tyre. I had to let go a little bit. I went slightly wider but then tried to cut back for the exit; then, on the entry to Turn 4, I couldn’t let go of the brakes. If I did, I wouldn’t make the corner, and eventually Alberto was able to pass me from the outside. I hope the spectators had fun!”
Adding more about Race 2, Oliveira said: “When I overtook two riders at the same time, I didn’t know if they had braked too soon or if I braked too late. It was hard to stop the bike on Sunday afternoon. I lost the hard work I had put in up until I ran wide. I had good overtakes. It meant we were fast and had good pace; but in the end we couldn’t show it.”
“I WON’T HAVE A SEASON LIKE THIS AGAIN. IT HAPPENS ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, SO I HAVE TO ENJOY IT”
Another treble for Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), who said: “Honestly, I had to improve from the Superpole Race as Iker was very strong, and I didn’t have a good feeling with my bike. I spoke a lot with my crew because I needed to improve for Race 2. I struggled with a lot of things, especially braking and entry, I was struggling a bit to find the limit. We improved for Race 2. I did a 1’34s at the beginning of the race, which is an incredible pace. While the tyre was fresh, Iker stayed with me. A record is always a record, it’s incredible to win 29 races in a season. I won’t have a season like this again, it’s impossible to repeat. It happens once in your life, so I have to enjoy it. When I saw the rain, I thought, ‘Okay, I don’t care’, because I’m already the Champion. I can make a mistake; it doesn’t change the season. When you go back to the garage after riding, and the worst position is second, your mind is going to a mentality that isn’t real; especially for MotoGP. Next year, I won’t always see my name in first position like always. I’ll start next season with a different mentality. I told Alberto that now that he’s had his first podium, he’ll believe more in himself. When I won the first race in WorldSBK, I started to believe more. I think he’s at 80% of his potential. Last year, he did some races in World Supersport, and this is his first year with big bikes. If he can learn the last things he needs to be a complete top rider, he’ll do very good things.”
“WE WON TOP INDEPENDENT AND WE’RE THIRD IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP… FOR US, IT’S UNBELIEVABLE”
It was a tricky weekend for Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team), who secured this year’s Best Independent Rider title. He said: “I was thinking whether I had a chance to fight for the podium. After starting P11, fighting for the podium was a good result. In the end, the front was a bit on the limit because I was pushing all race from behind to recover. After Alvaro’s crash, I thought it was easy to make a mistake with this wind. It wasn’t in my plan to take a lot of risks. I saw Alex on my inside in the Superpole Race so I just took my line, and then if you see the video, you can see Miguel tries to overtake Alex and Alex picked up the bike. I think if Miguel wasn’t there, we would have made the turn. I am outside of Alex without problem. We made contact and I was given a Long Lap Penalty. I don’t understand it at the moment, as, for me, it was a normal racing contact. After last year, winning the Independent title means a lot. Our primary goal was just to improve from one year to another. In the end, we won that title and we’re third in the Championship. We’re a family team and, for us, it’s unbelievable. During the year, we changed a lot of things. This result is for everyone; for the team, for Barni, for my personal trainer, my psychologist, my family and sponsors. Xavi is a strong rider. Xavi is younger, he comes from two different manufacturers including Yamaha which, right now, isn’t the best bike and he’s usually the best Yamaha.”
“I HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO, BECAUSE THIS YEAR HAS BEEN QUITE TOUGH”
Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) revealed he has options to stay in WorldSBK but needs to make a decision on what he wants to do. He said: “On Saturday, we tried many different things because we had nothing to lose. On one side, generally, either I couldn’t stop the bike or turn, so I always had to be in the middle. In many places on Sunday, I was fast under braking, but then the bike wasn’t turning. Maybe we discovered that during the year, we went in a way that was completely opposite to last year. What Toprak used last year was extremely one-sided: to stop the bike. It’s not my riding style; I like to be flowing and fast in the corner, but with this bike it’s one or the other. During the year, we lost both things. There are a couple of chances I stay in WorldSBK. There are things to set and then I have to decide what to do, because this year has been quite tough. This number of bad results, with all this effort, makes you start to think that you’re not enough anymore.”
“I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY WE DIDN’T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO IMPROVE OR MAKE THE STEP WE EXPECTED”
Three P2s for Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati), who was disappointed despite adding to his rostrum collection. He stated: “In the first 10 laps I was there. In one lap, I arrived at Turn 2 and before turning the bike had a slide on the front; I went to the kerb, almost off the track and then I rolled off. When the rain arrived, I tried to push a little bit because, when you have the reference, it’s easier in those conditions. I don’t understand why we didn’t have the capacity to improve or make the step we expected. The last five laps, it was horrible to ride the bike. I’m very frustrated with the performance. Second position is really good, but I’m frustrated because, still, we don’t understand what happened with the bike, my riding, the setup. We need to work. I don’t like Jerez, I struggle there. I don’t expect to win, I expect to be second, but let’s see what happens. In the Superpole Race, I made a mistake. I braked hard, when the rear was in the air, the wind pushed the rear a bit more. I had a lot of speed and couldn’t stop the bike, but at least I didn’t reach the gravel. I know from TV, it looks like I re-joined crazily, but Miguel was almost at Turn 1 when I went in, but with the speed he carried, he caught me at Turn 2.”
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