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LIVE COVERAGE - Portimao Pre-Season Testing officially underway!

Wednesday, 29 January 2025 08:49 GMT

Hot on the heels of last week's test in Jerez, our MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship riders as well as several FIM Supersport World Championship riders are raring to get the second round of testing in Portimao underway!

The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve hosts the second winter test of 2025 for the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field with Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKit BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) expected to make his return from injury during the two-day test. You can read more about who will be on track in Portugal HERE, with track action from 10:00 Local Time (UTC+0) until 17:00 every day. All times below are in Local Time.

16:16 - simiar to Day 1, it is a diverse top four featuring in order of pace: bimota, BMW, Ducati, and Yamaha

16:13 - as it stands, Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) has recorded the fastest lap of the day at 1'42.096, two seconds off the pace we saw yesterday however this comes as no suprise given the damp on track conditions

16:12 - most teams have retired for the day and the track is currently empty

14:33 -  Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team), has crashed and is being taken to the hospital, his team manager speculates that he has broken his collarbone

14:22 - we've heard from the Pata Maxus Yamaha team that their test has finished, while Vierge's has also ended. He had a crash earlier, too

14:13 - back to green flag running at Portimao

13:50 - we're back providing coverage from Portimao. Currently, it's under red flag conditions so no one is on track

12:40 - while it's a bit quieter on track, we're going to take a short break from coverage. We'll be back soon to bring you more updates from Portimao

12:22 - Bautista's back in his box now. It's quiet on track, with just a few riders venturing out

12:14 - we're back to green flag running now, although no one has headed out yet

12:09 - It was Bautista who crashed at Turn 9, and he's okay

12:07 - there's a red flag on track, following a yellow flag showing at Turn 9

11:52 - after another flurry of activity, we've been told from our team that it's raining again. Everyone's in the pits

11:43 - although Alex Lowes has just gone 0.005s quicker to take P1...

11:42 - Locatelli had a brief stint in P1 but he's been demoted by Razgatlioglu and Bautista, who occupy first and second. The #1's time is a 1'42.101s, a full second quicker than Bautista...

11:35 - Gardner's found another second as he cements his place in P1, with Locatelli moving into second and Bautista in third

11:32 - we've heard from Ducati that Bautista is out on slick tyres, so perhaps we'll see a bit more running now. Gardner currently leads the timesheets with a 1'44.414s, around three seconds quicker than Lecuona managed earlier on

11:22 - we have bikes on track! Locatelli, Bautista and Gardner have all headed out

11:00 - we're an hour into the day and the only track action so far has been the flurry of laps as the track went green. The fastest time so far is Iker Lecuona with a 1'47.368s, but that's a long way off what the riders were achieving yesterday...

10:11 - the yellow flags at Turn 15 were for a crash for rookie Bahattin Sofouglu. The rookie rode his bike back to pit lane

10:09 - everyone's back in the pit lane now

10:07 - only a couple of times set so far, which aren't representative, and there are yellow flags at Turn 15. And our team on the ground is reporting drops of rain in the pit lane...

10:01 - a few riders heading out straight away. Alex Lowes was the first, followed by Tito Rabat and Iker Lecuona

10:00 - the green flag waves to signal the start of Day 2, the final day before teams head to Australia. There's rain forecast for this afternoon, so it could be a busy start to the day...

09:45 - welcome back to live coverage of the Portimao test, with Day 2 set to get underway in 15 minutes. Before that though, catch up on all the action from Day 1 by reading through the blog below or by reading the report HERE. We also heard from several riders yesterday, including pacesetter Razgatlioglu, Bimota star Axel Bassani, Honda's Iker Lecuona on his injury comeback and fourth-placed Remy Gardner.

Day 1:

17:02 - so, a hectic end to Day 1 means Razgatlioglu tops the day on his comeback - but it's very close! He's just 0.029s ahead of Bassani, and only 0.099s separated the top four. All six manufacturers feature in the top seven, too...

17:00 - the chequered flag is out! 

16:58 - and now Bassani's P2! A 1'40.679s for 'El Bocia', and now 0.099s separate the top four

16:52 - Bulega hauls himself into second place, only 0.001s faster than Gerloff! Just 0.099s separate Razgatlioglu, Bulega and Gardner...

16:46 - not content with second place, Razgatlioglu re-rakes P1 ahead of Gardner with a 1'40.650s

16:40 - Gerloff's moved into P3, so we have Yamaha, BMW, Kawasaki and Honda in the top four with 20 minutes to go

16:35 - into the last 30 minutes of the action today, and Gardner's just put himself in P1! He's done a 1'40.749s, the first rider into the 1'40s brackt

16:24 - it appears to be hot lap time in Portugal, with Vierge moving into second with a 1'41.295s and Petrucci into P3 - less than a tenth behind the #97

16:21 - a frantic afternoon at Portimao - Bassani's just moved into P3 with a 1'41.685s

16:15 - there were some yellow flags out at Turn 7 a short while ago. It was for Bautista after the two-time WorldSBK Champion had a slide there, but he was able to bring the bike back to the pits

16:08 - Bulega's moved into second place with a 1'41.624s, splitting the two BMWs of Razgatlioglu and van der Mark who had been 1-2

16:00 - although the #1's reclaimed first place now with a 1'41.179s - that's half-a-second quicker than Gardner had done...

15:57 - Razgatlioglu has company in the 1'41s bracket! Remy Gardner's just put his Yamaha R1 in P1 with a 1'41.762s

15:50 - a brief interruption to this afternoon's action, but we're back underway now. Razgatlioglu still leads Alex Lowes

15:43 - Alex Lowes has moved into P2, just 0.161s away from Razgatlioglu. He's just posted a 1'42.010s

15:34 - we currently have three manufacturers in the top four, with Razgatlioglu leading Bulega, Bassani and Alex Lowes. Locatelli is the fifth fastest rider, and the top Yamaha - only seven tenths away from 'El Turco'

15:12 - we're into the final two hours of running. Razgatlioglu's injury not holding him back so far - he's currently in P1 with a 1'41.849s - the only rider in the 1'41s bracket. Times still a couple of seconds off the pace, though

14:52 - Nicolo Bulega shows shades of last year, claiming P2 with a 1'42.182s lap, only a third of a second behind Toprak Razgatlioglu who has improved his P1 time down to 1'41.849, around two seconds off of race pace

14:39 - Andrea Locatelli joins the circuit for his first lap of the day

14:30 - Jonathan Rea and his Pata Yamaha team continue to show signs of growth from last year as in his sixth lap jumps up the time sheet, setting a 1'42.880s, putting him into foruth place only four thousandths of a second behind Alvaro Bautista

14:12 - Immediately behind Montella, fellow Ducati-riding rookie Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing Team) is very close behind, only .099s behind his fellow rookie Montella 

14:06 - Yari Montella sits in P16 on his 12th lap, his best lap so far coming on his 11th lap, posting a 1'45.332s, he will be looking to keep up the positive momentum after a strong showing at Jerez's wet test Day 2

14:00 - Axel Bassani sits in P2 -.812s behind toprak- seems to have made some progress on the issues he said he had been having with the back end of his bike

13:40 - A brief red flag was issued but the green flag is back and racing continues

13:37 - Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) puts Yamaha up into the rostrum with a 1'43.656s time

13:34 - Alex Lowes makes it two Bimotas in the top three behind Toprak as he lays down a 1'43.515 time, .448s behind Toprak and .365s ahead of Axel Bassani

13:31 - Xavi Vierge keeping Honda's momentum from the end of the 2024 season and their speedy Day 1 in Jerez, jumping into P3 with a 1'44.252s time

13:29 - Iker Lecuona is back on the track after suffering a broken rib in the offseason!

13:25 - Xavi Vierge is out on the track for the first time today, he and Honda HRC will be looking to build confidence with their new Ohlins suspension

13:22 - Axel Bassani is back into the fight for fastest time, placing into p2, .813s behind Toprak with a 1'43.880 time

13:19 - Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) breaks into the top 10 in his sixth lap, setting a 1'45.965s

13:16 - Toprak Razgatlioglu doesn't seem to be hampered by his broken finger, in just his second lap of the day he lays down the fastest time of the day, 1'43.067s, almost a second and a half faster than Gerloff's previous leading time of 1'44.137s

13:13 - MGM BONOVO Raciing's Scott Redding, hot off of a good showing at Jerez's windy Day 1 test where he finished third, is out on the track and jumps into fourth in just his third lap

13:12- Toprak Razgatlioglu is confirmed to be on the track, currently running his first lap of the 2025 preseason 

13:08 - the factory Ducati's are out to play! Alvaro Bautista sporting a new Ducati exhaust in just his third lap jumps up to third now behind the similarly ascendant Michael van der Mark, Bautista on a 1'45.452s and van der Mark with a 1'45.018s

13:05 - Garrett Gerloff sets the new fastest time on the day, 1'44.482s placing him in P1 atop Xavi Fores riding with Bimota and Michael van der Mark in third with a fastest time of 1'46.548

12:00 - With everyone in the box, we're going to take a short break. It's been a quiet morning at Portimao, with Bimota test rider Xavi Fores leading the times ahead of Axel Bassani on the KB998. Hopefully, it'll be a bit busier this afternoon...

11:45 - To clarify, we've heard from our team on the ground that while it was Razgatlioglu's bike out on track, it wasn't the Turkish rider. Test rider Markus Reiterberger took Razgatlioglu's M 1000 RR out for a spin

11:42 - Just an out lap for the reigning Champion, who's immediately returned to his box

11:36 - Toprak Razgatlioglu exits the pits and makes his way onto the track for the first time since his right index finger injury suffered three weeks ago. He is sporting custom gloves to protect his stil-recovering finger and this will be our first look at him on the new M 1000 RR as he looks to build confidence on the new package

11:33 - Splitting the pair of Bimota KB998's previously in P1 and P2, Taz Mackenzie has leaped up into P2 ahead of Xavi Fores but behind Axel Bassani with a 1'57.837 in his 16th lap of the day

11:21 - Garret Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) made his first appearance for a short five lap stint, recording a fastest lap of 2'00.822s 

11:18 - Xavi Fores, a test rider for Bimota, slides up into P2 on his 11th lap with a 1'59.889s time, joining fellow Bimota rider Axel Bassani who still holds P1 

11:05 -  Axel Bassani is out on the track, recording the fastest lap of the session so far with a 1'59.357s on his first lap

11:00 - Feel Racing's newest member and former WorldSBK rider Phillip Oettl is out on the track with his team aboard his Panigale V2

10:50 - Markus Reiterberger emerges from the pits to lay down his first laps of the day. ROKiT BMW are the only team to have already sent two riders out onto the track

10:43 - Marcel Schroetter of World Supersport's Team WRP Racing currently sits in first with a fastest lap of 1'59.952s 

10:38 - Riders are here on the track in Portimao! BMW test rider Sylvain Guintoli, Bimota test rider Xavi Fores, and PETRONAS MIE Honda second-year rider Tarran 'Taz' Mackenzie have all emerged from the pits and have registered laps

10:13 - Based on a story published to his Instagram yesterday evening, it seems Alvaro Bautista will be testing today with the new Ducati exhaust which Nicolo Bulega raced with last season and various other Ducati riders have expressed interest in implementing

10:05 - Word around the garages is that with the track's wet conditions and lack of a dry racing line, many teams may hold off on testing until the weather clears up around 13:00 in order to save a half day of their limited testing days.

10:00 - Our team on site in Portimao have confirmed Toprak Razgatlioglu is in attendance at the track, still unclear whether he will be racing today, stand by for more details!

09:57 - Hello and welcome! The WorldSBK and WorldSSP riders here in attendance are expecting a delay to go out onto the track as overnight rain has left the track considerably wet