0.099s separated Razgatlioglu, Bassani, Bulega and Gardner while all six manufacturers featured in the top seven
Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) secured P1 on Day 1 of testing at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve as he made his comeback from injury, seemingly not letting his broken finger impact him on track. He was made to work hard for first place as the entire MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship field gathered in Portugal, with four riders separated by just 0.029s.
BMW TOPRAK BACK ON TWO WHEELS: BMW’s defending Champion returns
Razgatlioglu got his first feeling in 2025 atop BMW’s new M 1000 RR after missing last week’s Jerez test, which the reigning Champion missed due to a broken bone he suffered in his right index finger. The #1 took to the track at 12:36 Local Time and wasted no time in picking up where he left off in 2024, claiming P1 on his second lap, and not letting go for the rest of the afternoon, finishing with a top time set in lap 55 with 1’40.650, three hundredths of a second faster than Axel Bassani in P2. To accommodate his finger - still recovering from surgery - Toprak was provided two pairs of custom gloves, one pair with an enlarged index finger slot and another a sort of mitten-style glove where the index finger and middle finger are conjoined.
Teammate Michael van der Mark looked to be growing more comfortable atop BMW’s new 2025 M 1000 RR, after having a limited appearance at Jerez Day 1 due to a crash on his 8th lap, then electing not to test at Jerez’s rainy Day 2, van der Mark placed 8th at Portimao’s Day 1 with a time of 1’41.732, only .152s of a second away from Sam Lowes in 10th.
DUCATI’S INDEPENDENTS IMPRESS: Petrucci and Sam Lowes both top-10
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) finished fastest among 2025’s flock of Ducati bikes, he was consistently one of the fastest on the day, racking up at total of 60 laps and finishing in P3 with a best time of 1’40.748s.
Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) was the second-highest placing Ducati, the Ducati independent rider finished in P8 with a fastest lap of 1’41.369s, one of 45 laps he ran in his half-day of testing.
Next came Sam Lowes, (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) who finished just two-tenths of a second slower than Petrucci. Lowes ran a total of 56 laps, the best of which being a 1’41.580s recorded in his 54th lap. In P12, Alvaro Bautista tested for the first time with a new Ducati-supplied exhaust, running a total of 60 laps split nearly evenly across two bikes with different setups, the fastest among them being a 1’42.141s.
Scott Redding, fresh from an impressive Day 1 at Jerez, finished P16, his fastest lap coming later in the day on his 32nd lap of 37, clocking in at 1’42.260s. He split his laps between two bikes, but ran the majority on his second bike, split 11 on bike one to 37 on bike two.
Ducati’s two rookies had a middle-of-the-pack day, Vickers riding a total of 55 laps, and Montella running a total of 58. Vickers finished two spots ahead of Montella, clocking a 1’42.584s fastest lap, almost three quarters of a second faster than Montella with 1’42.964s.
BIMOTA CONTINE TO SHINE: Bassani P2, Alex Lowes P12
Bimota continue to shine so far in 2025’s preseason, with large portions of the morning featuring Bimota riders Alex Lowes, Axel Bassani and test rider Xavi Fores in the top five, at points occupying both P1 and P2. Axel Bassani finished fastest for the Italian-Japanese racing project, recording a 1’4.679s in the 61st of his 62 laps. Farther behind him, Alex Lowes finished 11th with a 1’41.819s as his fastest lap came in his 43rd of 58 laps.
YAMAHA’S REBUILD AHEAD OF SCHEDULE?: Two riders in top 5
Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) continues to showcase the chemistry developing between the riders and their Yamaha R1 bikes, He made a late appearance on the track, only coming out from the garage around 15:15, but claimed a short-lived P1 in just his sixth lap. Coming off being fastest at Jerez’s Day 2, Rea’s best lap of the day came on his 29th of 32 laps, a 1’41.100s.
Rea continues to wind back the clock as he placed P5 here at Day 1 His teammate, Andrea Locatelli had a tougher time in Jerez Day 2’s rainy conditions, crashing in his first lap before later returning to finish 10th overall. At Day 1 in Portimao, ‘Loka’ finished 15th with 1’42.245s as his best time, recording 38 laps across his two bikes running different setups.
Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) turned heads in the afternoon at Portimao on Day 1, setting two brief P1 times near the end of the session before Toprak Razgatlioglu set faster times. Gardner finished P4 with a 1’40.749s across 49 laps. Gardner’s teammate, Dominic Aegerter recorded his fastest lap early in the session of 1’42.634s, in his 38th lap. His day however was limited by a crash early on in his 30th lap from which he returned to log eight more laps. Rookie Bahattin Sofuoglu ran only 28 laps on the day, recording his fastest lap in lap 23 of 28, with a time of 1’43.222
HONDA TOP 10 AGAIN: Iker Lecuona back from injury as Vierge impresses
Xavi Vierge continued to shine this preseason, after a P7 finish at Jerez’s Day 1, and a P2 finish at Jerez’s day 2, at Portimao’s Day 1, the Spanish Rider notched a P4 finish on a day less affected by weather than either of the Jerez tests. Vierge’s best lap of the day came on lap 51 of his 58 laps, earning P7 again on the back of his 1’41.295s fastest lap. Vierge’s P7 for Honda today; considering the day was much more competitive than Jerez’s weather-adled tests and Toprak Razgatlioglu’s return is no small feat.
On the subject of returning riders, Toprak was not the only rider to have his preseason debut in Portimao’s Day 1 test, Iker Lecuona also returned to the circuit after suffering a broken rib during the off-season. He had a limited return, only doing half a day, registering 25 laps, a fastest lap of 1’44.841s and finishing in P28. Tarran Mackenzie was the sole representative of PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team, recording 53 laps and a hot lap of 1’43.817s.