Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) is the rider to beat after Friday’s MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship action after he set a 1’39.995s to claim P1 ahead of rival Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). The Turkish superstar set no times in FP1 due to a technical issue but responded in style in FP2 for the Pirelli Portuguese Round with the only 1’39s lap of the day, with Bulega trailing the #1 by three tenths at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve.

RAZGATLIOGLU BOUNCES BACK: No FP1, no problem for the #1…

The day got off to a terrible start for Razgatlioglu, with just one out lap completed in FP1 thanks to a technical issue. However, in FP2, the #1 was back out on track – and one of the first riders to hit the track – and it didn’t take him long to be towards the top of the timesheets. He moved into P2 with his first flying lap with a 1’40.735s as he embarked on the first of two 10-lap stints as he traded times with Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati). He later improved to a 1’40.637s on that first run before his times dropped off as the stint progressed. With 12 minutes remaining, ‘El Turco’ set a 1’40.089s to move into a provisional P1 before improving to a 1’39.995s for the first lap in the 1’39s bracket this weekend. Teammate Michael van der Mark put in a late lap of a 1’40.506s to ensure both BMWs were in the top three, lapping more than half a second slower than Razgatlioglu.

BULEGA AS CONSISTENT AS EVER: can he take the fight to ‘El Turco’?

Bulega’s pace and consistency were remarkable during FP2 as he set laps in the 1’46.6s before dropping into the 1’46.7s towards the end of his first run, with his best time in that stint a 1’40.620s to beat ‘El Turco’ in the first half of the session by just 0.017s. in his second run, the #11 found even more time, improving to a 1’40.483s before setting a 1’40.294s for his fastest time of the day. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata GoEleven) was the second fastest Ducati with a 1’40.595s although he crashed at Turn 5 towards the end of FP2. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) was fifth, just a tenth behind Iannone in fourth, while Barni Spark Racing Team duo Danilo Petrucci and Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) were sixth and seventh respectively; Bautista, Petrucci and Montella were separated by less than a tenth. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) moved into ninth with a late lap in FP2 after his team worked quickly to fix an electrical issue that developed with around 15 minutes to go. Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) finished in 17^th place in the combined classification; he crashed at Turn 13 in FP1.

BIMOTA IN THE MIX? Close to the Independent Ducatis ahead…

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) was the lead Bimota rider on Friday as he finished in tenth place with a 1’40.872s, 0.877s down on Razgatlioglu, although the #22 had been running in the top three in the early stages of FP2. Across the box, Axel Bassani had used a fresh tyre at the end of FP1 to claim P3 in that session, but he was the only rider not to improve his time in FP2. Bassani’s fastest time was a 1’41.046s, while he was two tenths slower in the second session.

SUPERCONCECCSIONS FOR YAMAHA: the development continues, Locatelli leads their way

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the lead Yamaha rider across Friday’s action as he finished in 11^th place with a 1’41.035s, 1.040s down on Bulega’s time, while Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) was just six hundredths away from ‘Loka’ in 13^th place. Dominique Aegerter was two places down on teammate Remy Gardner while Tito Rabat (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) and teammate Bahattin Sofuoglu were 20^th and 21^st respectively; Rabat had an FP1 crash at Turn 8. Jason O’Halloran, standing in for the still-recovering Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha), was 22^nd as he got his hands on the Yamaha R1 in WorldSBK spec for the first time; he improved his time by almost two seconds between FP1 and FP2. Yamaha have new superconcession parts for this weekend on the chassis, using them for the first time at Portimao.

VIERGE AHEAD OF LECUONA: not much between the pair

Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) led Honda’s charge as he took 14^th place with a 1’41.143s, while teammate Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) was 16^th and six tenths down on the #97. Lecuona is making his return from injury this weekend as he looks to help Honda’s continued development on the CBR1000RR-R. It’s the same for Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Racing Honda) as he finished in 18^th place with a 1’41.904s, while his teammate, Zaqhwan Zaidi, was 23^rd.

GERLOFF IN 19^TH: technical issues in FP1 for the American

Kawasaki’s sole rider in 2025, Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team), was 19^th with a 1’42.009s, although he did have issues in FP1. He lost time in the morning session with a technical issue which cost him valuable running time, but FP2 was trouble-free as he worked on the ZX-10RR.

The top six from Friday’s WorldSBK action, full results here:

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’39.995s

2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.299s

3. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.511s

4. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) +0.600s

5. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +0.711s

6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +0.762s

Don’t miss any of Saturday’s action, including FP3, Tissot Superpole and Race 1, from 09:00 Local Time (UTC+0) using the WorldSBK VideoPass!