The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s pair of preseason testing days at Portugal’s Autodromo Internacional do Algarve have seen the chequered flag, concluding what has been two complicated days of testing at the site of the beloved ‘Rollercoaster Round. As seen at Jerez a week prior, rain limited riders' opportunities to push and find the limits of new parts or their entirely new machines. Day 1 was effectively a wash, as only three riders in the 2026 field and riders braved the substantial downpour and strong winds to log laps on the day. While the wet conditions continued, the wind had largely subsided by Day 2. The second day bore more fruit as a result, with more riders taking to the track and laying down a greater volume of laps, while the track was wet, at was at least consistently so as opposed to the windy, mixed conditions yesterday.

DOWNPOUR ON DAY 1: Only five riders from the WorldSBK paddock partook in Portimao’s opening day

Overnight showers and winds of up to 50 km/h largely washed out the chance of Day 1 being productive, however, a handful of riders braved the conditions for the sake of collecting more data from their teams. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) topped the session with a fastest overall time of 1’46.262s, one of his five laps recorded on his new 2026 ZX-10RR bike. Behind him, Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) clocked in just under a second behind him with a time of 1’47.246s. Trailing his compatriot by just a hair under three seconds, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team Goeleven) and a 1’50.317s time look to fill the shoes left behind by Andrea Iannone. The times on Day 1, despite the limited running, were the fastest of the test. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) appeared on track, but only for in and out laps, not recording a time across the session. Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) was the only rider in the WorldSSP field at the test, posting a competitive 1’48.735s.

BULEGA TOPS DAY 2: ‘Bulegas’ battens down the hatches ahead of the trip to Australia

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) only participated on Day 2 of the test, and no matter the weather, the #11 found his way to the top of the timesheet with a 1’59.144s time. His new teammate, Iker Lecuona, chased him back into the boxes after running the second-most laps of any rider with 35, his fastest lap just 0.039s slower than the 2025 Riders’ Championship runner-up. Alberto Surra finished in the top five on both days, running a test-high 40 laps across the two days as the rookie looks to keep improving day by day. His fastest time on Day 2, 2’00.757s, took him to P4. Lorenzo Baldassarri was the next of the Ducati riders on the timesheet, setting a 2’01.610s time, which placed him in P5. Last but not least, Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) ran 32 laps and posted a best time of 2’04.442s for P8.  WorldSSP’s Oettl had a light Day 2 after staying on the track later than anyone else on Day 1, he finished with a time of 2’17.907s.

DIXON DASHES TO P3: The Brit looked right at home in the rain as the rookie went around the circuit third-fastest

Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) remains his team’s only operational 2026 rider for now as Somkiat Chantra continues to recover from his injury. Dixon didn’t let a little rain shake him as he collected data atop two different motorcycles on Day 2, running a total of 32 laps. His fastest laps sent him to P3 and P4 technically, as they were each recorded on different bikes, but his P3 time clocked in at 2’00.111s. Honda HRC Test Rider Tetsuta Nagashima put in another hard couple of days’ work at Portimao, riding 12 laps on Day 2, and 18 on Day 1 for 30 laps in the wet in total.

FORES FEARLESS IN THE RAIN: Bimota’s sole representative clocks out on a wet and wild pair of days in Portimao

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) and Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) didn’t take to the track on either day at Portimao; they elected to save their testing days for later in the season, leaving test rider Xavi Fores to carry the flag for the team. Fores ran laps on two separate setups, his fastest time a 2’01.807s. He rode 37 laps to collect data and set his team up for the final preseason test in Australia.

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