News

After the first round of preseason testing in Jerez, Spain over the 22^nd and 23^rd of January, the next testing days are being prepared just 218km west, at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, Portugal. These next two days will give the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship teams a final opportunity to test their machines, refine settings and prepare for the season-opening Australian Round in just under a month, with the test schedule allowing eight hours of track action per day.

BMW FOR PORTIMAO: Toprak may begin his season at Portimao

One of the key stories of the offseason was the finger injury suffered by defending Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). He broke a bone in his right index finger riding his motorcycle in the offseason, and while the finger was seen at BMW’s team launch in Berlin, his team hope to have him ready for at least one day of track testing at Portimao as opposed to his first days of practice during the week preceding race weekend of Round 1 in Australia. With his absence, teammate Michael van der Mark has been the sole grid rider undertaking the testing of the new M 1000 RR BMW will be debuting this year. Van der Mark looked fast at Day 1 of Jerez’s testing, maintaining one of the fastest laps early in the session until a crash at Turn 8 limited his time out on the track thereafter.

YAMAHA TAKING STEPS: New parts and improvements to the bike may help Yamaha going forward

After a positive showing on a wet test Day 2 at Jerez, Pata Maxus Yamaha look ahead to a more competitive 2025 campaign. In that pursuit, they hope to develop their package as the year goes on, rolling out new parts for their Yamaha R1 as the season progresses. Team Principal Paul Denning expressed his hope of having new parts to have a shakedown on at Portimao. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was the fastest Yamaha at the Jerez test in the dry while teammate Dominique Aegerter was one of many riders who opted to only test on the first day, and his testing time was limited by a technical issue early in the day. Bahattin Sofuoglu made his WorldSBK rookie debut alongside veteran Tito Rabat (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team), and Sofuoglu finished second-fastest among the grid’s four rookies in 16^th place. Teammate Tito Rabat had a marathon showing at Jerez on Day 1, riding the most laps of any rider with 99 laps.

DUCATI DEVELOPMENTS: New exhaust + what the different riders hope to get out of Portimao

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) gave many WorldSBK fans déjà vu back to last season through his blazing speed at Day 1 of Jerez, finishing the day in P1 on the back of a 1’38.731s fastest lap. .45 of a second faster than Andrea Iannone in P2 (Pata Team GoEleven). Immediately behind Iannone, Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing), in his first 2025 preseason test back atop a Ducati Panigale V4R, placed third at Jerez Day 1, only a tenth of a second behind Iannone in P2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) looks to continue to grow more comfortable atop his recently reconfigured Panigale V4 R after undertaking a ‘reset’ in last year's post-season testing, and with a new Ducati exhaust soon available, the Ducati riders will hope to be able to test with it in Portimao. Barni Spark Racing Team now features two riders, last year’s Top Independent Rider, Danilo Petrucci is now joined by fellow Italian Yari Montella, who had a good showing in Day 2’s downpour, finishing third with a 1’53.978s and running 32 laps in total. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in 2025 will look to show more of his pace while meanwhile striving for more consistency. Vickers finished fastest of all the 2025 rookies, immediately ahead of Sofuoglu.

HONDA’S SIGNS OF GROWTH: Lecuona’s potential return, Zaidi’s potential debut

Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) had a successful outing at Jerez, with the Japanese brand testing Ohlins suspension after their switch and that will continue at Portimao – this time, with Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) on the CBR1000RR-R after he missed Jerez through injury. At the Independent PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team, rookie Zaqhwan Zaidi will be hoping to jump on the bike for the first time while Tarran Mackenzie will be looking to continue his work from Jerez.

BASSANI IMPRESSES WITH BIMOTA: The returning manufacturer will look forward to Portimao with optimism even with a bike still in development

Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) both impressed atop the sleek new KB998, finishing fifth and 10^th respectively. This success will be air under the wings of the Bimota team, however Axel Bassani spoke in an interview in which he said he believes the bike is capable of even more once he feels more comfortable with the rear end of the bike. Alex Lowes will be tested in this upcoming return to Portimao to see if he can perform at the same high level we saw from him with Kawasaki last year, where he earned two podiums on the weekend.

KAWASAKI WITH GERLOFF: The American rider looks to continue building a rapport with his new bike

Gerloff finished Day 1 on a high note, placing in P4 using the SCQ tyre to set a time of 1’39.332s. Kawasaki and Gerloff were testing new forks among other components, something Gerloff partly credited his speedy Day 1 to. Gerloff also mentioned that after Day 1, his Kawasaki team had some new Brembo components that they did not get the chance to use, so we might see this on Kawasaki’s to-do list at Portimao.

WORLDSSP IN PORTIMAO: Oettl and Rinaldi continue acclimating to WorldSSP

Former WorldSBK riders Phillip Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) and Michael Ruben Rinaldi (GMT94-Yamaha) will both continue their transition into World Supersport ahead of testing at Portimao. Oettl is now on the back of a Ducati Panigale V2, growing in confidence with the new manufacturer and bike. Rinaldi now rides a Yamaha R9, as he moves from WorldSBK. Rinaldi will be joined by teammate Lucas Mahias, Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) and WRP Racing duo Marcel Schroetter and Ondrej Vostatek (WRP Racing) on Tuesday; with only Oettl testing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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