Portimao Sunday WorldSBK/SSP/300 Results/Reports/Quotes/Notes | MCNews

WorldSBK 2025

Round Two – Portimao – Sunday

WorldSBK Riders Reflect on Portimao

In championship points order

Nicolò Bulega – 1st in Championship – 111 points

“We leave Portimao knowing we did everything possible to bring home at least one win. At the same time, though, we are delighted to have fought to the last metre with Toprak on a track where we struggled a lot last year. I thank my team and Ducati for the great work done before and during this round. See you at Assen”.

Toprak Razgatlioglu – 2nd in Championship – 82 points

“We have been pushing really hard this weekend, in every corner. A big thank you to the team, everyone is working really hard and we improved the bike in every session. Congrats also to Nicolò Bulega, he did a great job this weekend, he is really strong. I am really happy; we were fighting with Nicolò here and I think everybody enjoyed to watch the races. I am a fighter, I love to fight and I never give up. The bike is not 100 per cent yet, but I was only pushing for the win. Yesterday’s race was harder for me because I often lost the front. I just tried to follow Nicolò and to win the race. It has been a good battle. In today’s races, the pace was incredible and I was pushing really hard, but I felt a little bit better because we had improved the bike and I felt more grip. I came here with the target to get pole and three wins. We achieved all of that and for me, it has been an incredible weekend. After Phillip Island, we came back and have been really strong here. Now we will see how the next races will be.”

Danilo Petrucci – 3rd in Championship – 60 points

“This morning, we gave it our all, but unfortunately, I just missed out on the podium. We fought hard in the Superpole Race, but it wasn’t enough. In Race 2, I had an issue at the start. First gear didn’t engage properly and that cost me a lot of positions. I tried to recover as much as possible, but this was the best we could do today. I’m disappointed not to have taken home a podium this weekend, but we’re third in the championship and now we focus on Assen.”

Alvaro Bautista – 4th in Championship – 59 points

“We got the best possible result today because Razgatlioglu and Bulega showed a much better race pace. It was a good weekend, though, because in terms of feeling, we could replicate the good sensations we had in Australia. We have to continue on this path”.

Andrea Locatelli – 5th in Championship – 56 points

“I think we did an amazing job during this weekend, we were always there and close to get two podiums more! We are working really well on the base set-up, in every situation and every condition in the races we were quite strong. Like I said yesterday, we have many possibilities in this season and this weekend to finish always in the top five is positive but I don’t want to stop believing that we can get more. Before the red flag, I was feeling better – I don’t know what happened after the restart but I had a vibration on the rear, it’s difficult to say but if I didn’t lose the time with Mikey and if we could have stayed closer to Bautista and not stopped the race then maybe we could have been fighting again for the podium. In any case, we need to be proud that we took another step, in myself and in the work that we do with the guys, so looking forward, cross the fingers and give our all to see what we can get in the next round. I will try in Assen to be fast again from Friday to find a good feeling with my R1 and try again for the podium.”

Andrea Iannone – 6th in Championship – 44 points

“Today was an unlucky day for us, in the Superpole Race I wasn’t able to recover to get into the top 9, and in race 2 I had to leave the fight for the positions close to the podium due to a jump start. The communication on the Dashboard marked me with an OK penalty after the first long lap and there I didn’t realize I had to do one more. Then with the red flag no one was able to give us a correct communication of our penalty and as soon as we restarted they gave us a ride through. With that penalty the race ended. Today we had the pace to be in the Top 5, but we’ll make up for it in Assen!”

Axel Bassani – 9th in Championship – 30 points

“Today was quite good for my feeling with the bike, but when I got near the top ten it was really difficult for me to try to overtake because the race pace for everyone was quite similar. It was impossible for me to take the slipstream on the straight and attack, but it was quite a consistent Superpole Race. In Race Two, in the first part before the red flag, I was struggling a little bit with the front. After the restart it was immediately better and I was able to push like I wanted. I made a mistake in T1 and lost about a second and a half, but afterwards I recovered. I had a really good battle with Petrucci, which I enjoyed a lot, but it was not funny on the straight with him. But, the rest of the track was good. We leave Portimao with a good feeling, and we understood something on the bike. I hope we can start with this feeling in Assen next time.”

Michael van der Mark – 10th in Championship – 26 points

“We had a good weekend. We were pretty fast on Friday so we were really happy with how we started the weekend. In Superpole I was happy, I made some small mistakes and qualified seventh. I did not want to be there but it was not bad. In race one, I just had no feeling with the bike. I struggled a lot and it was just a long race but I finished sixth so that wasn’t too bad but I just did not enjoy it. For today, we made some changes and in the Superpole Race, I was a bit unlucky. I wasn’t precise on the first lap so I lost a couple of places. Then I fought my way back to P7 which was okay coming from where I was after lap one. In race two, I had a good start, a good rhythm. I was just not fast enough to fight for the podium but overall, it has been a good end of the weekend.”

Xavi Vierge – 11th in Championship – 23 points

“I want to take the positives from the weekend because I think we were able to make a good step forward. We were competitive and consistently inside the top ten in qualifying and in every race, including today’s Sprint, where everyone was pushing to the limit. We had enough speed and pace to finish inside the top nine. In Race 2 I felt really good. I came into brief contact with another rider on the first lap and lost a position, but once I passed him again, I think I had the pace to fight at least with Van der Mark. Unfortunately, I made a small mistake at turn one that cost me the race. Luckily, I walked away totally unhurt, but of course I’m a bit frustrated. I want to apologise to the team because we deserved a better result in Race 2, but I’m already looking forward to the next round and to bringing this level of competitiveness there as well.”

Dominique Aegerter – 12th in Championship – 23 points

“It was definitely a rollercoaster Sunday… on the rollercoaster! The Superpole Race didn’t go well; I struggled a lot and didn’t feel comfortable on the bike. Then, in Race 2, things were a bit different, and I felt better on the Yamaha R1, managing to produce fast laps and maintain a decent race pace. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to fight for more, which is always our goal, but finishing with points and two top ten results is still a decent outcome. Now, let’s focus on Assen, a track where we have been strong in the past—I hope we can perform well this year too. I am also sorry for Remy and I hope he is OK after his crash.”

Alex Lowes – 13th in Championship – 19 points

“We tried some things with the bike today, and I felt quite good. In the last race I made some positions before the red flag. We had a brief time to change the bike set-up again on the front. On the first lap of the restart I was in race mode, and made a couple of good passes on Aegerter and Montella. On the apex of T12 on the first lap, on full power, I closed the front – which I didn’t really expect because it is not a ‘normal’ place to crash. Maybe I was trying a bit too hard because we were starting further up the grid in the restart. Although we have had no results over the weekend my pace was not that bad. Maybe an opportunity was there and I was trying too hard. We have to learn from this weekend, our first one back in Europe with the bimota. Axel did a fantastic job in the last race and he was improving all weekend. Congratulations to him and his guys and I am sure the data will be useful for all the team. We will take the positive points and come back stronger in Assen.”

Yari Montella – 14th in Championship – 15 points

“I’m happy with how this Sunday went. Finishing the Superpole Race was important. I started well, but contact with another rider cost me positions. From there, I had to defend myself because the goal was to finish the race. In Race 2, I started with more confidence and stayed focused. Another top-10 finish was crucial for our progress. I still need to improve in the final phase of corner entry, where I lack some feeling with the bike, but racing alongside experienced riders helps me learn and pick up valuable details.”

 Iker Lecuona – 15th in Championship – 14 points

“I’m done, but I’m happy. As I said already many times this weekend, this was the first time since October that I was able to ride without pain. I’ve worked really hard on myself in recent months, both physically, to recover as soon as possible, and mentally, to manage the situation. Everyone around me has supported me and helped me to come to Portimão ready to ride. Scoring points in all three races and finishing in the top ten is something I can be pleased with, and I’m happy with how I’ve managed everything this weekend. On Friday I finished maybe sixteenth, I don’t even really remember, but I didn’t care. I just focused on the work we had to do in the garage. In this regard, I want to thank the team, Honda and everyone around me, because they didn’t put any pressure on me. On the contrary, they encouraged me to take things step by step, giving me an added sense of calm. I’m truly grateful for that, as it helped me a lot. From there, we improved session by session – P11 in qualifying and again P11 in Race 1, even though we knew there was still something more to gain with the setup. Then in this morning’s warm-up, we found that little extra, and in the Sprint Race I was actually surprised by our pace. Finishing P9, with all riders on track and no crashes, was a good result and highly motivating ahead of Race 2. Again, everything went well in the first part of Race 2, where I was running comfortably enough in sixth when the red flag came out. In the restarted race there were some more battles, and I had to take a few small risks, but I wanted to finish the race. I brought home P8, which is still a result I will not complain about after five months with no real track action. I want to go into the next round with exactly this same mentality and continue working with my team just as we did here.”

Garrett Gerloff – 16th in Championship – 11 points

“I am a lot more happy at the end of Sunday than I was yesterday. I just discovered some things that I could do on the bike to help it and in Race Two I was able to go a lot faster than I had been before that. This is still not the position we want to be in but in general I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Before that, it was looking difficult. Thanks to the team and everybody for coming out and we will try again in two weeks in Assen.”

Remy Gardner – 18th in Championship – 6 points

“This final day was a day of ups and downs, unfortunately. The Superpole Race wasn’t too bad, and I was able to fight for a decent position, although I struggled to overtake other riders, making it difficult to gain another row for Race 2. Then, in Race 2, I got an amazing start and tried to stay as close as possible to the front riders, sticking with the group. My race pace was good until the red flag stopped us, and we had to restart from seventh. I tried to do the same after the restart, but unfortunately, in the latter stages, the feeling wasn’t great. Like in the Superpole Race, battling against the other riders wasn’t easy. I ended up crashing, and that’s definitely not how I wanted to finish the weekend.”

Tarran Mackenzie – 20th in Championship – 2 points

“We made a bit of a change to the bike after warm-up, going in a slightly different direction geometry-wise. That proved positive and the lap times were more consistent in the Superpole race. It’s quite a big change though, and unfortunately I caught myself out with it and crashed. We went in the same direction for race 2, and I felt quite good once the race restarted but I’m still trying to understand how to ride it, as I need to approach it a bit differently. I think it can be positive moving forward so this was kind of a test today. It was a bit frustrating to crash but that was part of the learning process this weekend. I’d have liked to have scored points again today but, like I say, I think what we tried today can be positive going forward.”

Jason O’Halloran – 0 points

“Superpole Race and Race 2 done today, made another good step forward with my lap times consistently – about a second a lap faster than yesterday, so that was good. Thanks again to the team for continually working to make me more comfortable. All the time, I’m trying to adjust and adapt to the way that I’m riding the bike to try and get faster and get closer to the front guys. Superpole Race this morning was quite good – lap times we consistent from start to end – and then Race 2 this afternoon was another step again. The track temperature was hotter but I managed to be a bit faster and it was the first time this weekend that I had some guys around me on track to compete with which was quite nice. Obviously sorry to the team for the crash! There was a tail wind down the start-finish straight and I had a little bit too much speed into Turn 1 and folded the front.”

Zaqhwan Zaidi – 0 points

“I think this was a positive race and I can say we’ve seen good progression over the weekend. I’m starting to better understand how to use the bike but it’s not easy putting it all together, with a new bike, tyres, track and everything. So, we need to keep working, for sure. I know I need to improve more of course, but we have definitely taken a step here and if we keep trying and stay focused, I think we can do more at Assen. A big thanks to the whole team for all their hard work here, and now we’ll prepare for Assen, our next challenge!”

Team Managers

Christian Gonschor – BMW Motorrrad Motorsport Technical Director

“It was a very intense weekend. First of all, apologies to Toprak for having to miss the first free practice on Friday due to a technical issue, but as a team, we stayed focused, worked cleanly, and were ready with both riders from FP2 onwards. I think you could see in almost every session that both performed well. Lap records, pole position, three wins for Toprak, and Mickey consistently in the top positions – it has been a very strong weekend for BMW. It was great to be back in Europe and to see on this track layout that our 2025 bike package is working very well. That means what was discussed in the past is in the past, and we can now focus on the present. With many dry sessions both during testing and the race weekend, we had the opportunity to perfect and fine-tune the bike. The engineers, mechanics, and riders got the absolute maximum out of the bike, and the package is competitive. Now we’re looking forward to Assen.”

Denis Sacchetti – GoEleven Ducati Team Manager

“Today was a really unlucky day for us, which is a shame, because in race 2 we were really fast. The jump start, unfortunately, ruined our plans, but it can happen in racing, unfortunately Andrea released the clutch a moment earlier by mistake. I’m a bit sorry for the lack of clarity in the communication on the Dashboard, because maybe we could have scored some points, but it was pointed out to us that the marshals’ table at the finish line always showed the right penalty. During the red flag, I had a moment when I got nervous, because I didn’t receive any explanations from the race direction about what Andrea should have done at the restart. They probably already knew about the ride through, a timely communication would have been enough to inform Andrea, instead of keeping us in the unknown. In any case, there’s no going back, today wasn’t our day, but I can’t wait to go to Assen and get back to the front!”

Marco Barnabò – Barni Ducati Team Principal

“We’re satisfied with this Sunday. Yari had a great race, finishing in the top 10 with really solid lap times. His progression over the weekend was promising and while there’s still work to do, we have a strong rider and a solid team. Danilo had an issue at the start of the main race, second gear engaged instead of first. Fortunately, with the red flag, we managed to recover. It was a complicated race, but overall, the weekend was positive because we were competitive in all three sessions. In Race 2, we secured the top two spots among independent riders and with Danilo, we maintain third place in the championship.”

WorldSBK Superpole Race

Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) followed up his Race 1 duel with Toprak by seizing the holeshot from the Turkish polesitter. He clung to P1 as Toprak made time on the Italian rider until in Turn 3 of Lap 5, when Razgatlioglu took charge at the front. Bulega clung to his heels and almost passed the BMW at the final corner as Toprak had a moment, trying to push his bike to the limit in the straight.

Alvaro Bautista’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) Portimao weekend had been a rollercoaster of its own up to this point, he began the Superpole race from the third row, climbing up to fifth by Lap 2, and by Lap 9, he then sprung a move on Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) in Turn 1 to claim a spot on the podium.

Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) had been up around the top positions all weekend, P3 in the Superpole session, P4 in Race 1, and finished the Superpole Race P4, snubbed from the podium by a streaking Bautista. While still a good result, it is a tough break for Petrucci who otherwise rode a clean race.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was again the top performing Yamaha, earning a P5 start in the upcoming Race 2.

Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) started the Superpole Race from P6, and finished in the same position, another strong result from the much-improved independent Ducati rider.

Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) began the race in P7 dropping temporarily to P11, then rectifying the situation in the last laps to recover P7 from Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC). Vierge and teammate Iker Lecuona both enjoyed a strong result for the Factory Honda pair, who earned a P8 and P9 starting position in Race 2.

WorldSBK Superpole Race Results

WorldSBK Race Two

The final ride on WorldSBK’s favourite rollercoaster took place Sunday afternoon, providing another nail-biting battle between rivals Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati).  A red flag was thrown on Lap 10 after Jason O’Halloran (Pata Maxus Yamaha) crashed at Turn 1. In the ensuing 11-lap sprint, two of the title contenders engaged in a thrilling battle for the race win.

‘El Turco’ came out on top for the third time on the weekend, completing his second consecutive Portimao hat-trick; earning his ninth win at this track, equalling his tally at Donington Park. Prior to the red flag, Toprak and ‘Bulegas’ had paired off at the front of the pack, while Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had maintained his P3 grid start, and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) had fallen down to P9 from his P4 grid position.

Bulega took the holeshot of the restarted race; and he was able to defend his P1 until Toprak overtook him, taking P1 momentarily on Lap 2, at Turn 1. Bulega retook the lead in the run to Turn 1 of Lap 3 then Laps 6-8 saw the pair grit their teeth and throw caution to the wind overtaking each other a total of 6 times. The final three laps were fought tooth and nail as Toprak held on through the final stages of the race to claim his 60th WorldSBK win, now sitting third all-time in WorldSBK wins ahead of Fogarty. Bautista pushed his Ducati Panigale V4R hard to try to keep up with the #1 and his factory Ducati teammate, however the gap increased as the race went on, crossing the line 3.512s behind the #1 as he secured third place.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) had a good jump off the line after the red-flag restart, moving into second place before falling to P4, closing out a strong weekend for the top Yamaha rider. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK) had an up and down ride in Race 2, starting the race well, before falling to P7. However, the Dutchman was able to recover to P5 for his best result of the season so far. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) started the first race in P4, however a poor jump at lights out saw him fall all the way out of the scoring positions. The red flag helped him out greatly, re-compacting the grid and allowing him to climb up to P6 to complete a great comeback for ‘Petrux’. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) again was the only Bimota rider of their pair to finish the race, taking his season’s best result of P7.

Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) set a high-water mark for this season, finishing P8 in his return round after missing Australia due to injury. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) benefited from the restart, climbing from P12 to finish in P9. Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) had another result to be proud of for the Italian rookie, Top 10 for the third time in six races in WorldSBK. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) finished P11, fighting up from P14 where he began the restarted race. Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) showed glimpses of progress after the red flag, climbing from P17 to P12.

Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) both took home points from Race 2, with the duo improving after the restart. Scott Redding had a technical issue before the red flag. He was able to take the restart from last on the grid and finished in P15, to claim a point. Petronas MIE Honda riders Zaqhwan Zaidi and Tarran Mackenzie finished P16 and P17, Mackenzie crashing however was able to finish.

Tito Rabat (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) crashed on Lap 4 prior to the red flag. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) crashed out of the race at Turn 1 of Lap 5, spoiling a very strong start to the race where he led his fellow Honda HRC teammate Lecuona from P6 before his crash. Jason O’Halloran (Pata Maxus Yamaha) crashed in the same Turn 1 as Vierge. After the red flag restart, Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) crashed at Turn 12 of Lap 11 ending a difficult weekend for the British rider. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) crashed on Turn 1 at Lap 10. Ducati Independent rider Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) enjoyed a quick start to his race, jumping from P12 to start up to P8. However he was applied a pair of long lap penalties due to a jump start which he failed to complete, earning him a ride-through penalty in the restarted race, retiring shortly after.

WorldSBK Race Two Results

WorldSBK Championship Points

WorldSSP Race Two

Bo Bendsneyder (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was the only rider who was able to keep up with the Yamaha R9s in the podium fight in Race 1, and after dropping to fifth from third at the start, he surged all the way up through the field, eventually taking the lead from Manzi and going on to win his first WorldSSP race.

Manzi, Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) and Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) spent much of the race tightly grouped as the trio tried to cut away at the lead that Oncu had carved out for himself, leading to a battle which sprung to life after the Turk’s crash. Aside from Bendsneyder’s pass that pushed him back to second, Manzi held off the rest of the pack behind him to take home his fourth podium of the 2025 season, maintaining his lead in the Riders’ Championship.

Tom Booth-Amos chipped away at the leading group from his sixth place starting position, eventually whittling away at the margin to pass Mahias on Lap 12 and went on to claim the final step on the rostrum.

Oli Bayliss crashed out of the race.

Oli Bayliss

“It’s been a weekend to forget here in Portimão, after a positive weekend in Phillip Island it’s not how I wanted to follow it up. Chasing more and more each session and unfortunately I hit a bump on the inside of turn 4 and had a high side just as the sensations with the bike were getting better. We need to re-set and take the positives we can bring into the next round.”

Countryman Luke Power had been ruled unfit earlier in the weekend and took no part in the races.

WorldSSP Race Two Results

WorldSSP Championship Points

WorldSSP300 Race Two

Benat Fernandez (Team#109 Retro Traffic Kove) became the 36th winner in the FIM Supersport 300 World Championship after taking a stunning last-lap victory on Sunday at Portimao, beating home compatriots Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport) and Antonio Torres (Team ProDina XCI) by less than a tenth to cap off his debut round in the Championship.

Carter Thompson (MTM Kawasaki) crossed the line in fourth only a few-hundredths away from a podium finish. The Australian taking the chequered flag by a nose over David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI).

Phillip Tonn (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) was sixth, but his last lap was not without drama, after he made contact with team-mate Jeffrey Buis at Turn 1. That pushed the two-time Champion into Brazilian rider Humberto Maier (Yamaha AD78 FIMLA by MS Racing), with both Buis and Maier sliding out of the race.

Indonesia’s Felix Mulya (ProGP NitiRacing) improved on his Race 1 was result as he finished in seventh, only 0.259s down on the race win and finishing as the lead Yamaha rider. Elia Bartolini (Team BrCorse) trailed him by just a tenth, while Pepe Osuna (ZAPPAS-DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team) went from 28th and last on the grid to P9 at the flag and only 0.747s away from what would have been a remarkable and unlikely victory. Home hero Tomas Alonso (Pons Motorsport Italika Racing) completed the top ten.

Cameron Swain just missed out on the points in 18th.

The first retirements came on Lap 3 when Faerozi Toreqottullah (ProGP NitiRacing) collided with Mirko Gennai (MTM Kawasaki) at Turn 8, with the incident set to be investigated by the FIM WorldSBK Stewards after the race. Gennai was taken to the medical centre for a check-up after the crash. On Lap 8, Emiliano Ercolani (Kawasaki GP Project) crashed at Turn 3, but he was able to re-join the race although did stop with a technical issue shortly after. Filip Novotny (Accolade Funds Smrz Racing BGR) was also a retirement at a similar time to Ercolani, but they weren’t connected.

WorldSSP300 Race Two Results

WorldSSP300 Championship Points

2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar