SBK, new test at Portimao: the pursuit of Bulega and Ducati resumes

The WorldSBK teams will be in Portugal next week for two days of testing: the hope is that it won’t rain again.

The 2026 Superbike Championship kicked off at Phillip Island in February, but the teams didn’t arrive in Australia in the best possible shape. Having barely been able to run during the Jerez and Portimão tests due to bad weather, they had to wait until flying to Oceania to work for two days on a dry track, alternating with the World Supersport teams. Considering the unique nature of the Australian circuit, we didn’t see the true pecking order on the grid in the opening round.

The test arranged at Portimão for Monday the 9th and Tuesday the 10th of March becomes crucial, not only because the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve will also host the next round of the SBK calendar (March 27–29). The hope is that rain won’t once again disrupt plans, although the current weather forecast suggests conditions may be less than ideal.

Nicolò Bulega dominated the first round in Australia, but it wasn’t exactly shocking news: he also scored a hat-trick at Phillip Island in 2025 and won there on his Superbike debut in 2024. Testing had already hinted at how the weekend would unfold for the Emilia-born rider, who on his favorite track immediately took the new Ducati Panigale V4 R to victory. The bike has already proven highly competitive, but there’s still development to be done, and Portimão will be an important opportunity to get to know Bologna’s new jewel even better.

While Bulega was immediately able to be blisteringly fast and winning on the new Ducati, his teammate Iker Lecuona ran into some difficulties. He definitely needs to improve his qualifying lap (13th fastest at Phillip Island) and continue adapting effectively to the Panigale V4 R, which is very different from the Honda CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP he rode for four years. The Aruba Ducati rider recently announced he is going to be a father, after marrying Gema Vidal in 2025. Great news that will see him arrive even more fired up for the test in Portugal.

In Australia, the Barni Spark Racing Team put both Yari Montella and Alvaro Bautista on the podium; there’s a great vibe in the box, and at Portimão they’ll look to lay the groundwork for a big 2026 season. Sam Lowes will also try to ride his Ducati (Elf Marc VDS team), despite the injury he suffered at Phillip Island; with two fractures in his left hand, he still wants to give it a shot. The Panigale V4 R of Tommy Bridewell from the Australian Advocates team will also run at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve; starting from the Portuguese round, they will be a regular presence in the World Superbike Championship.

At Phillip Island, the second-best manufacturer was Bimota, on the podium with both riders in the Superpole Race and then with Axel Bassani in Race 2. The 26-year-old from Veneto and Alex Lowes want to confirm their competitiveness through the rest of the SBK season, and to do so they know they must work hard at Portimão to bring the KB998 Rimini to the next level.

BMW struggled a bit in Australia, but that wasn’t a big surprise: the circuit doesn’t particularly suit the M 1000 RR, and the new riders need time to adapt. Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci are banking on the test in Portugal to improve their feeling and speed with the German bike. In the European rounds we should see a much more competitive ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team.

Yamaha fell short of expectations at Phillip Island, so the Portimão test is invaluable. The Iwata manufacturer will be present with the Locatelli–Vierge duo from the Pata Maxus Yamaha team and with Manzi–Gardner from the GYTR GRT Yamaha team. The R1 is certainly not what we saw in the first round; we should see it in much better shape at the upcoming Superbike calendar stops.

Honda did not race with its main riders in Australia and will have Somkiat Chantra back at Portimão, while Jake Dixon remains sidelined with injury and is unlikely to recover in time for the Portuguese round on March 27–29. In next week’s test, one of the Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade SPs will be ridden by Jonathan Rea: the six-time Superbike World Champion will look to contribute to development and also to prepare well for his racing return at the Portuguese round.