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Almost the entire MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field descended on Jerez and Portimao for two two-day tests in Spain and Portugal, although with very limited running. Neither venue featured ideal conditions for testing, with wind and rain impacting plans and limiting what data was collected for the six manufacturers in WorldSBK this season. So, what did we learn from testing? In short, not a huge amount, but that can also be flipped another way: with not a lot gained for the teams, Australia – already a unique event anyway – and the start of the season is sure to be unpredictable.

RAZGATLIOGLU'S INJURY DOESN’T SEEM TO BE HOLDING HIM BACK: broken finger, still fast…

You’d think a rider who has a broken finger, one they use for braking as well, would maybe be a bit off the pace but that wasn’t the case for Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team). The #1 missed the Jerez test with his broken finger but was back on track at Portimao and wasted no time in getting up to speed. With special gloves – one with a larger index finger, one with two fingers together – to help him, he topped the timesheets on a dry Day 1 and was second in the wet on Day 2. It’s an ominous sign from the reigning Champion but…

BIMOTA’S “IMPRESSIVE” START: race prep for Lowes, Bassani’s SCQ gains?

Bimota’s first WorldSBK action ahead of 2025 came at the post-round test at Jerez last October, in a test they topped. Fast forward to January 2025 and Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) claimed fifth in the dry at Jerez, before teammate Alex Lowes pipped Razgatlioglu to P1 on Day 2 at Portimao in the wet. The #22 was also towards the top on a dry Day 1 but fell down the order when riders used the SCQ tyre; crucially, Lowes hadn’t put the soft tyre on and he was content with his race pace work, while he also described Bimota’s start as “impressive” and that they were ‘starting this project at least at the same level they ended with Kawasaki’. For Bassani, the Tissot Superpole session is where he hasn’t traditionally been able to reach his potential but 1’40.679s on the SCQ tyre on Day 1, just 0.029s behind Razgatlioglu, will give ‘El Bocia’ confidence. Plus, he’s been working on the rear feeling with his KB998 Rimini, making a gain between Jerez and Portimao, but is there more to come?

BAUTISTA ON THE BACK FOOT? “I don’t have good confidence with the bike…”

2024 was tricky for Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and he hoped a reset in the winter would help him get back to his best. However, with the weather not playing ball for the #19, finding a base on his Panigale V4 R was tricky and a Day 2 crash at Portimao at the high-speed Turn 9, when he highsided off his machine, would’ve dented his confidence a little bit; even in wet conditions when he lost the rear ‘without warning’. Of course, testing is testing and the two-time WorldSBK Champion could be back to his best come the Australian Round. Elsewhere within the Ducati camp, rookie Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) took third in the wet at Jerez and was quick at Portimao in rainy conditions, as was fellow rookie Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing), while Montella’s teammate Danilo Petrucci didn’t get as much running in as he’d have liked. That also applies to Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven), but all three have a year or more of WorldSBK experience under their belt, as does Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) who was quick throughout the off-season.

HONDA AND YAMAHA CLOSING THE GAP: it’s going to be tight in 2025

Honda started 2024 poorly but ended it on the rostrum and had high hopes they could start this season how they ended 2024. That appears to be the case with Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) and teammate Iker Lecuona as the Japanese brand switch to Ohlins suspension. Vierge was P7 in the dry at Jerez and P4 at Portimao, again in the dry. Despite Lecuona missing Jerez through injury, it looks as though Honda will be exactly where they left off last year despite a big change. And change is something that applies to Yamaha too, with Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) working with a new crew chief as he looks to bounce back from a terrible 2024. He was quickest in the wet in Spain, while he, teammate Andrea Locatelli and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) have all shown strong pace so far. It’s been trickier for Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team), still working his way back to full fitness, while Tito Rabat (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) did what Tito Rabat does and pounded in the laps as he adjusted to the Yamaha R1 machine. Rabat’s rookie teammate, Bahattin Sofuoglu, endured a tricky pre-season including two crashes on Day 2 at Portimao, the latter of which saw him taken to a local hospital with a suspected fractured collarbone.

REDDING BACK ON A DUCATI: will the Brit be a force to be reckoned with?

The last time Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) was on a Panigale V4 R was back in 2021, when he was a race winner and Championship contender. A lot has changed since then but the #45 was impressively back up to speed quickly at Jerez as he took third on Day 1 and just half-a-second down on the factory bike of Bulega. Three years on BMW machinery didn’t work out for the 12-time race winner but are we about to see him back to his best and mixing it up at the front consistently once again?

GERLOFF'S QUICK KAWASAKI ADAPTATION: no issues for the Texan on the ZX-10RR so far

American star Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) is preparing to race for his third manufacturer in WorldSBK, after Yamaha and BMW, as he links up with the Kawasaki squad; the factory effort now run by Manuel Puccetti’s team. Quick at the first test at Jerez in 2024, he backed that up again in January at the same venue, before taking a top-six position on Day 1 in the dry at Portimao. He ended 2024 strongly and, despite the change of manufacturer, appears to be starting 2025 in the same fashion.

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