Recapping the WorldSBK/SSP/SPB/WCR action from Friday at Portimao

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Round Two – Portimao – Friday

The second round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship got underway at Portimao on Friday in warm, dry conditions, with clear skies and temperatures above 20 degrees giving the paddock a far more stable backdrop than the recent Algarve test.

Across the four headline categories, Friday delivered four distinct talking points. In WorldSBK, Sam Lowes set the pace despite carrying a fractured left wrist from the season opener. In WorldSSP, Can Oncu claimed pole for Race 1. The new Sportbike category produced its first-ever Superpole with Matteo Vannucci putting Aprilia on top. And in the Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, reigning champion Maria Herrera started her title defence in the best possible way.

WorldSBK

Sam Lowes emerged as the pace-setter on the opening day at Portimao, topping both sessions for the ELF Marc VDS Racing Team and finishing Friday with a 1m39.941s best despite still managing the fractured left wrist he sustained at the opening round.

Sam Lowes – P1

“Today was positive because I expected my wrist to feel worse. I’m happy with the progress even if I’d still like it to be a bit better. This track suits our bike and the Ducati package quite well. We tested here and that gives us a small advantage. Our pace was strong at the end. I was also quick this morning, with a 1’40.2, which was competitive but I know that the key is to manage the final part of the race. If I can stay there in the last six to eight laps I feel like I can fight for something. Today was encouraging.”

The Englishman completed 32 laps across the day and looked comfortable from the outset, while Ducati strength was evident with Nicolo Bulega ending the day second and Yari Montella third. Bulega ended the day just under a quarter of a second from top spot, although the Aruba.it Racing Ducati rider suggested there is still work to do, particularly in the braking zones that define a Portimao lap.

Nicolò Bulega – P2

“The final position isn’t bad, but I can’t say the feeling is the best it could be. After all, I expected to encounter a few more difficulties than in Australia, but that doesn’t mean I’m not feeling very confident about the weekend, partly because the pace is solid. I’m sure that tomorrow we’ll be able to sort out those details that will allow us to take a significant step forward.”

Montella continued the form he showed at Phillip Island, finishing third overall for Barni Spark Racing.

Yari Montella – P3

“Today was a good day, I’m happy with the work we did. After the positive weekend in Phillip Island, we are continuing on a positive trend. Here in Portimão we managed to return to the front positions, which is our target, to stay consistently in the top five. It was important to collect useful data to work on for race conditions, in order to be as consistent and repeatable as possible. I’m satisfied with the work done today and confident about what we can achieve tomorrow.”

Alex Lowes put the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team machine fourth on combined times, with Iker Lecuona fifth and Alvaro Bautista sixth.

Alex Lowes – P4

“We did a long run in the afternoon session, and lap 14 was only about two-tenths of a second of my best time from the morning. I managed to keep, more or less, inside the 1’40s for the whole race simulation. That was our target for this afternoon. We still have some work to do on the feeling with the front, as I felt a little bit of a drop in the front tyre. The race is the most important thing, but I am pleased with the way things are going. Axel is doing a great job. We are both riding well, the team is working well, and we are getting a lot from the bike.”

Lecuona continued his positive adaptation to the Ducati Panigale V4 R and remained inside the top five despite a minor fall in FP2.

Iker Lecuona – P5

“I’m really pleased with how things went today. The team and I did a great job. I’m really enjoying working with them because we’re all on the same page: taking it one step at a time, race by race. The feeling is good and I feel we still have plenty of potential to tap into. The crash? Nothing serious, but it gave us some insights into tyre choice, especially the front tyre.”

Bautista recovered from a more eventful afternoon. The Spaniard crashed between Turns 5 and 6 after what the team described as a rear brake issue, but returned to the track after repairs and improved his feeling with the SC1 front tyre on his way to sixth.

Álvaro Bautista – P6

“It was a very busy day, as we didn’t have clear references on this track. This morning we started with a setup based more on feeling, without clear starting points, and I didn’t find the right confidence straight away, especially with the front. For FP2 we made a good step forward; we also tried the new front tyre from Pirelli, although we still need to improve the overall feeling. The crash was caused by an issue with the rear brake, which didn’t allow me to slow the bike properly and led to a front-end loss. Fortunately, there were no physical consequences. However, this situation gave me the opportunity to try the SC1 front tyre; the step was positive, with more grip and better feeling, allowing me to make progress. Overall, it was a positive day: we collected a lot of useful data to work on.”

Alex Lowes also had a crash during the afternoon session, but the bimota rider’s earlier pace and race simulation kept him fourth overall, while teammate Axel Bassani rounded out a strong Friday for the team in seventh. Bassani worked through setup options across both sessions and stayed in the lead group on race pace.

Axel Bassani – P7

“We had some really nice weather in Portimao and the track was pretty good. This morning, we tried something different than we had during the recent Portimao test, and the feeling was not bad. In the afternoon, we continued in that way. In the end the feeling, taking everything into consideration, was not so bad. We have to improve and understand some areas, but I am quite happy. We will see how things are for tomorrow. Our pace is not bad, we are there, and a lot of riders have the same pace. We will try to be ready for the first race on Saturday as much as possible.”

For the home crowd, Miguel Oliveira opened with the eighth fastest time on the BMW after a day that hinted at more than the raw timesheet suggested. Oliveira indicated his best potential was closer to the top five, but an issue on his second tyre run prevented him from putting together a cleaner headline lap.

Miguel Oliveira – P8

“It was a good day but our position doesn’t really reflect the work we did. During the afternoon session we were strong, especially in the first stint, so I felt fast and competitive. On the second set of tyres something didn’t work. I’m not sure if it was tyre-related or something else, and we couldn’t put together good laps. That was frustrating because the potential was there to be inside the top five. Based on the ideal lap time we were only about three tenths from P1, which shows what we’re capable of. We need some small tweaks to make the bike more user-friendly in certain corners but the potential is there. Now it’s about putting everything together.”

Further back, Xavi Vierge led Yamaha’s charge in 10th after concentrating on race pace, with Australian Remy Gardner 11th for GYTR GRT Yamaha after making a sizeable step from morning to afternoon.

Xavi Vierge – P10

“It has been a “solid start” let’s say! Since the beginning of the day the feeling with my R1 has been very good. We had some things to try from the test, and we tried it and it was the correct direction. It was so important to make many laps with the race tyres, because we know here the front especially is a bit critical, so we focused the day on the race pace. We made some long run laps in the afternoon as well – everything is very clear, we need just to find an extra two-tenths to be ready for the fight, but I think the way to follow is clear. We will have a chance to analyse this afternoon to see where I can improve my riding style and try to help also with the set-up of the bike, to see if we are able to do this small jump for tomorrow.”

Remy Gardner – P11

“We saw some positives today as we were able to make a good step forward from morning to afternoon and close the gap. There’s still work to do, but we’re confident we can find more performance and improve further. It will be important to put together a strong lap in Superpole tomorrow to secure a good grid position for Race 1 and try to stay close to the front group.”

Garrett Gerloff, encouraged by seventh in FP1 despite skipping the recent dry Portimao test, ended the day 12th overall after a more difficult second session.

Garrett Gerloff – P12

“I am pretty happy with how FP1 went, considering that we were not able to come here for the test that a lot of other people were at. So I think we started really well and I was happy with that. I was a little bit more disappointed this afternoon, in FP2, as we struggled with a few things, so I had to keep coming into the pit box, and making changes. Overall, my sector times are still decent, so we just didn’t put it all together. Tomorrow we will make a couple of small changes and try to get some clean laps in and be a bit more consistent. I think it could be a good day.”

Andrea Locatelli – P16

“This morning the feeling was not too bad and I was hoping that this afternoon we could improve. But unfortunately, we struggled a bit – so we’re working hard for tomorrow, because I know that soon I can find my way with the bike set-up and we can be faster. It’s a shame, because I’m struggling in some areas of the track in the exit of the corner, but we will look to make a step with this and for sure we can improve. Keep working hard, look forward, and try to do our best like always.”

Honda HRC’s Friday was more complicated. Jonathan Rea, standing in for the recovering Jake Dixon, improved in FP2 before crashing heavily at Turn 11. Somkiat Chantra, returning to action after missing Phillip Island through injury, also crashed late in the session at Turn 15. Rea ended 18th overall and Chantra 20th, though both escaped without serious consequence and will continue on Saturday.

Jonathan Rea – P18

“It’s a pity about the crash this afternoon. There was no warning and it happened just a few laps into the session. I’m sorry for the team as well, as they now have to rebuild the bike, so apologies to them. We’ll have to start again tomorrow. Even in those few laps, though, we found something with the bike that made it a bit easier for me to ride, and I was able to improve my lap time by four tenths compared to the morning, which is positive. I also felt I could go quite a bit faster, so at least it gives us a good direction for tomorrow. This morning I didn’t complete many laps either, as we had quite a few things to test, with a focus on the electronics, so we were in and out of the garage. We’ll have to decide tomorrow whether to continue with that kind of testing, maybe even during Race 1, or whether to put everything together. We’re still learning. Every lap on this bike gives us more information and sometimes a different direction, so it’s important to keep building the full picture.”

Somkiat Chantra – P20

“Firstly, I’m really happy to be back racing this weekend. In FP1, the focus was on getting back up to speed, understanding the bike again and working towards a solid base set-up. In FP2, we made some changes and I tried to push a little more. Towards the end I had a crash at Turn 15 when I lost the front, but luckily there were no consequences. We still have time to improve, so the aim is to keep learning tomorrow, take things step by step and continue pushing.”

WorldSBK Combined FP1/FP2 Results


Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	S Lowes	Duc	1m39.941
2	N Bulega	Duc	1m40.188	+0.247
3	Y Montella	Duc	1m40.351	+0.410
4	A Lowes	Bim	1m40.442	+0.501
5	I Lecuona	Duc	1m40.458	+0.517
6	A Bautista	Duc	1m40.476	+0.535
7	A Bassani	Bim	1m40.564	+0.623
8	M Oliveira	BMW	1m40.685	+0.744
9	L Baldassarri	Duc	1m40.758	+0.817
10	X Vierge	Yam	1m40.804	+0.863
11	R Gardner	Yam	1m40.879	+0.938
12	G Gerloff	Kaw	1m40.951	+1.010
13	D Petrucci	BMW	1m40.962	+1.021
14	T Mackenzie	Duc	1m40.979	+1.038
15	T Bridewell	Duc	1m41.103	+1.162
16	A Locatelli	Yam	1m41.442	+1.501
17	A Surra	Duc	1m41.565	+1.624
18	J Rea	Hon	1m41.578	+1.637
19	S Manzi	Yam	1m41.766	+1.825
20	S Chantra	Hon	1m41.921	+1.980
21	B Sofuoglu	Yam	1m42.423	+2.482
22	M Rato	Yam	1m42.547	+2.606

WorldSSP

Can Oncu will start Race 1 from pole after a strong WorldSSP Friday that saw the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate rider set the benchmark in Superpole at Portimao.

Oncu had already looked competitive in practice, but his qualifying lap put him clear of the field and gave him the fifth pole position of his WorldSSP career. After a difficult opening round in Australia while settling into his new team environment, the Turkish rider looked far more settled aboard the Yamaha R9.

Valentin Debise continued the encouraging start of the new ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing project by qualifying second, while Lucas Mahias moved onto the front row in the closing stages after the session was interrupted by a late red flag caused by Josh Whatley’s technical problem.

Championship leader Albert Arenas will line up from fourth on the AS BLU CRU Racing Team Yamaha, ahead of Philipp Oettl and Jaume Masia. Roberto Garcia also recovered from a Friday morning crash to secure eighth on the grid.

For Yamaha, it was a positive session beyond pole as Mahias put GMT94 on the front row, while Yuki Okamoto qualified 24th and Aldi Satya Mahendra, riding injured after a cycling accident in Indonesia, ended up 25th.

WorldSSP Tissot Superpole


Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap		Speed
1	C Oncu	Yam	1m42.670		275.0
2	V Debise	ZXM	1m43.303	+0.633	277.1
3	L Mahias	Yam	1m43.357	+0.687	274.3
4	A Arenas	Yam	1m43.493	+0.823	277.8
5	P Oettl	Duc	1m43.513	+0.843	283.7
6	J Masia	Duc	1m43.606	+0.936	285.2
7	C Perolari	Hon	1m43.625	+0.955	278.6
8	R Garcia	Yam	1m43.684	+1.014	274.3
9	F Caricasulo	ZXM	1m44.088	+1.418	277.1
10	A Zaccone	Duc	1m44.152	+1.482	280.7
11	T Booth-Amos	Tri	1m44.245	+1.575	287.4
12	J Whatley	Duc	1m44.340	+1.670	273.6
13	J Alcoba	Kaw	1m44.378	+1.708	279.3
14	S Jespersen	Duc	1m44.463	+1.793	277.8
15	O Vostatek	Tri	1m44.547	+1.877	282.2
16	D Aegerter	Kaw	1m44.690	+2.020	280.0
17	M Ferrari	Duc	1m44.728	+2.058	280.7
18	O Bayliss	Tri	1m44.736	+2.066	277.8
19	X Cardelus	Yam	1m44.779	+2.109	277.1
20	M Casadei	Duc	1m44.886	+2.216	274.3
21	A Kofler	Yam	1m44.923	+2.253	270.2
22	F Farioli	Yam	1m44.935	+2.265	275.7
23	O Konig	Tri	1m45.038	+2.368	273.6
24	Y Okamoto	Yam	1m45.125	+2.455	276.4
25	A Mahendra	Yam	1m45.181	+2.511	275.0
26	A Carrasco	Hon	1m45.624	+2.954	272.3
27	L Taccini	Duc	1m46.001	+3.331	279.3
28	R Rossi	Duc	1m46.053	+3.383	277.1
29	B Jimenez	Duc	1m46.082	+3.412	279.3
30	A Giombini	MVA	1m46.705	+4.035	278.6
31	J Cretaro	MVA	1m46.950	+4.280	268.9
32	M Jesus	Hon	1m47.677	+5.007	263.6

WorldSPB

The new Sportbike class made its competitive debut at Portimao and it was Matteo Vannucci who wrote the first line in the category’s history by taking inaugural Superpole for Revo-M2.

Riding an Aprilia RS 660 Factory, Vannucci edged Ferre Fleerackers by just 0.010s in a tightly contested session, with David Salvador putting Kawasaki third. The closeness of the times suggested the new category could quickly settle into the sort of drafting and slipstream battles Portimao tends to encourage.

Kas Beekmans put Suzuki fourth, while former WorldSSP300 champion Jeffrey Buis qualified fifth for Track & Trades Wixx Racing. Loris Veneman made it two Kawasakis in the top six.

The new class also delivered immediate manufacturer variety. Seven manufacturers are represented on the grid this weekend, and six of them were inside the top 10 in Superpole, underlining just how open the new category could be in its first race.

Another notable storyline was the presence of former WorldSSP300 champions Buis and Benat Fernandez, the latter qualifying on the seventh row for Kove Racing Team 109. Kove have been given special dispensation to race this weekend but after not completing full homologation in time will not be eligible for points from the season opener.

WorldSPB Tissot Superpole


Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap		Speed
1	M Vannucci	Apr	1m48.553		246.8
2	F Fleerackers	Suz	1m48.563	+0.010	238.7
3	D Salvador	Kaw	1m48.759	+0.206	240.3
4	K Beekmans	Suz	1m48.785	+0.232	241.3
5	J Buis	Suz	1m48.842	+0.289	242.4
6	L Veneman	Kaw	1m48.867	+0.314	238.7
7	B Ieraci	Tri	1m49.068	+0.515	237.1
8	D Poncet	Hon	1m49.150	+0.597	237.6
9	F Seabright	Tri	1m49.166	+0.613	235.6
10	C Thompson	Yam	1m49.444	+0.891	244.1
11	A Torres	Kaw	1m49.457	+0.904	238.7
12	X Artigas	Kaw	1m49.465	+0.912	233.0
13	A Fuertes	Kaw	1m49.477	+0.924	240.3
14	M Gaggi	Yam	1m49.481	+0.928	241.9
15	E Bartolini	Tri	1m49.510	+0.957	241.3
16	I Peristeras	Apr	1m49.553	+1.000	246.3
17	G Sanchez	Yam	1m49.635	+1.082	239.2
18	T Benetti	Apr	1m49.640	+1.087	238.7
19	M Sorrenti	Apr	1m49.744	+1.191	243.0
20	J Risueno	Kaw	1m49.745	+1.192	232.5
21	B Fernandez	Kov	1m49.795	+1.242	246.3
22	A Di Persio	Yam	1m49.843	+1.290	240.8
23	H Dessoy	Tri	1m49.890	+1.337	232.5
24	H Maier	Yam	1m49.916	+1.363	243.0
25	M Gennai	Yam	1m50.071	+1.518	236.1
26	J Osuna	Kaw	1m50.355	+1.802	235.6
27	A Agaska	Yam	1m50.644	+2.091	235.1
28	J Correa	Kaw	1m50.767	+2.214	232.0
29	T Aksu	Yam	1m50.883	+2.330	239.2
30	G Cazard	Yam	1m51.427	+2.874	236.1
31	T Sovicka	Yam	1m51.947	+3.394	233.0
32	P Tonn	Kov	1m52.137	+3.584	233.0
33	F Mulya	Yam	1m52.743	+4.190	231.0
34	T Alonso	Yam	1m52.760	+4.207	230.6

WorldWCR

The 2026 Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship began at Portimao with reigning champion Maria Herrera taking the first pole position of the new season.

Herrera quickly established herself in Superpole and set a 1m52.572s that kept her clear of rookie Paola Ramos, who continued an impressive first WorldWCR weekend by qualifying second. Roberta Ponziani completed the front row for the Klint Racing Team.

Ramos had been quickest in morning practice, so the early signs point to a genuine fight between the experienced Herrera and the rookie Spaniard when the racing begins. Herrera’s advantage on Friday appeared to come from her ability to execute the lap she needed early, while also showing the consistency that made her so hard to beat last year.

Behind the front row, Beatriz Neila and Yvonne Cerpa completed the top five, while Australia’s Tayla Relph made an encouraging start by qualifying sixth for Full Throttle Racing. Relph was also the only non-European rider inside the top 10.

Lucie Boudesseul, Sara Sanchez, Pakita Ruiz and Natalia Rivera completed the first 10 places on the grid in what already looks like a closely packed 25-rider field.

WorldWCR Tissot Superpole


Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap		Speed
1	M Herrera	Yam	1m52.572		223.0
2	P Ramos	Yam	1m52.988	+0.416	216.3
3	R Ponziani	Yam	1m53.710	+1.138	220.2
4	B Neila	Yam	1m54.141	+1.569	213.7
5	Y Cerpa	Yam	1m54.149	+1.577	222.5
6	T Relph	Yam	1m54.253	+1.681	217.2
7	L Boudesseul	Yam	1m54.309	+1.737	218.5
8	S Sanchez	Yam	1m54.324	+1.752	217.6
9	P Ruiz	Yam	1m54.477	+1.905	211.2
10	N Rivera	Yam	1m54.727	+2.155	214.6
11	A Madrigal	Yam	1m54.732	+2.160	222.5
12	E Bondi	Yam	1m54.791	+2.219	222.5
13	M Sarapuech	Yam	1m54.926	+2.354	220.2
14	C Jones	Yam	1m55.126	+2.554	215.4
15	L Vieillard	Yam	1m55.205	+2.633	219.4
16	K Danak	Yam	1m55.345	+2.773	221.6
17	I Carreno	Yam	1m55.348	+2.776	215.9
18	D Dal Zotto	Yam	1m55.694	+3.122	212.5
19	M Guarino	Yam	1m56.086	+3.514	222.0
20	M Dobbs	Yam	1m56.093	+3.521	211.6
21	A Ourednickova	Yam	1m56.274	+3.702	217.2
22	A Barale	Yam	1m56.395	+3.823	214.2
23	K Hand	Yam	1m56.818	+4.246	210.8
24	P Sowa	Yam	1m57.284	+4.712	216.3
25	L Michel	Yam	1m58.489	+5.917	219.8

2026 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship calendar


……Date…….	Country	Circuit	WorldSBK	WorldSSP	WorldSPB
20-22 Feb	AUS	Phillip Island GP	X	X
27-29 Mar	POR	Portimao	X	X	X
17-19 Apr	NED	TT Assen	X	X	X
1-3 May	HUN	Balaton Park	X	X
15-17 May	CZE	Most	X	X	X
29-31 May	ESP	MotorLand Aragon	X	X	X
12-14 Jun	ITA	Misano – Marco Simoncelli	X	X	X
10-12 Jul	UK	Donington Park	X	X
4-6 Sep	FRA	Nevers Magny-Cours	X	X	X
25-27 Sep	ITA	Cremona	X	X	X
9-11 Oct	POR	Estoril	X	X
16-18 Oct	ESP	Jerez – Angel Nieto*	X	X	X

2026 World Superbike Championship Entry List


Rider	Bike	Team
I.Lecuona	Duc	Aruba.It Ducati
N.Bulega	Duc	Aruba.It Ducati
D.Petrucci	BMW	ROKiT BMW Motorrad
M.Oliveira	BMW	ROKiT BMW Motorrad
A.Locatelli	Yam	Pata Maxus Yamaha
X.Vierge	Yam	Pata Maxus Yamaha
Y.Montella	Duc	Barni Spark
A.Bautista	Duc	Barni Spark
A.Lowes	Bim	bimota by Kawasaki
A.Bassani	Bim	bimota by Kawasaki
S.Chantra	Hon	Honda HRC
J.Dixon	Hon	Honda HRC
S.Manzi	Yam	GYTR GRT Yamaha
R.Gardner	Yam	GYTR GRT Yamaha
S.Lowes	Duc	ELF Marc VDS
L.Baldassarri	Duc	Goeleven
T.Mackenzie	Duc	MGM Racing
G.Gerloff	Kaw	Kawasaki WorldSBK
A.Surra	Duc	Motocorsa
M.Rato	Yam	Motoxracing
B.Sofuoglu	Yam	Motoxracing
A.Iannone	Duc	Cainam Racing