Razgatlioglu fastest on first day of Portimao WorldSBK test

Top four riders separated by less than a tenth of a second, Gardner top Yamaha

Toprak Razgatlıoğlu made a spectacular return from injury by finishing Day 1 of testing at Portimão on top of the timesheets. Testing BMW’s 2025 M 1000 RR for the first time, he quickly reclaimed his dominant form, completing 55 laps using a customised glove as he recovers from a broken right index finger. His teammate Michael van der Mark also showed progress following a challenging Jerez test, finishing inside the top 10.

Ducati riders delivered strong performances, with Nicolo Bulega leading their charge and placing among the top three. Independent rider Danilo Petrucci and Sam Lowes also impressed by finishing within the top 10, while Alvaro Bautista tested new setups. Ducati’s rookies, Vickers and Montella, posted middle-of-the-pack results as they continued to adapt, while Redding also had a steady start to the test in 16th.

Bimota’s impressive preseason form continued, with Axel Bassani securing a spot near the top of the rankings after a strong day of testing. Teammate Alex Lowes also delivered consistent results, building on the team’s momentum from the Jerez test.

Yamaha turned heads with two riders finishing within the top five. Jonathan Rea showcased his continued strong form despite completing fewer laps in the session, while teammate Andrea Locatelli worked through setup challenges. Remy Gardner briefly claimed the fastest lap of the day before finishing near the top during the afternoon session. Dominique Aegerter and rookie Bahattin Sofuoglu had more subdued outings, with Aegerter’s session disrupted by an early crash.

Honda’s preseason remains strong, with Xavi Vierge putting in another consistent performance. Iker Lecuona returned to testing after an off-season injury, completing limited laps. Tarran Mackenzie also ran steadily for the PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team.

Toprak Razgatlioglu: “I didn’t expect the finger to be like this, because I immediately started very fast. I felt a little bit of pain but not a lot. I used hard braking and everything was good; not like before, but it’s getting better. I was focused on my bike because we tried new parts and setup. It wasn’t a bad day for me. We tried many things. It was better than expected because, on the last run, I used the race tyre and not the SCQ tyre. This is the race tyre lap time and I think the other riders used the SCQ tyre. Not just one lap, but after ten laps, we’re very strong.”

Axel Bassani: “It’s been a strange day because we started in wet conditions. We did some laps to try to see how the bike was in this circuit. We waited and it started to dry, but the track was quite difficult out from Turn 4 and Turn 10; there was a lot of water. We tried something. The feeling with this bike on this track was good. It was the first time for us here. I’m feeling quite good. We improved a little bit with the rear. With Showa, we worked hard. I think we’re going in the correct way and we need to continue with this. We ran all day with the hard compound like everyone, I think. It’s hard to understand which tyres the rest of the riders are using. We continued with the race tyre, and, in the end, we put on only one soft tyre to check where we are with it. We did quite a good lap. I think BMW and Ducati with Toprak and Bulega have some margin, but we are there. We have to be happy; this is the most important thing. The team did a good job.”

Remy Gardner: “It’s been a good day. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the whole day. It was raining in the morning, and it took a while to dry out. It didn’t dry out completely in the end, we had some rivers across the track. I didn’t push 100% today just to avoid some crashes on the wet patches. Even so, we could work in the dry corners and work with some new test items we had that seemed to give me a good feeling. It was the same items as Jerez. We did some back-to-back testing, and, for me, we confirmed the feeling. Maybe they made even more of a difference here, so it’s been a good day. If it rains tomorrow, we’ll do a few laps. Not too many but we’ll do some just to confirm that we feelings we had in the last two years and see if the new items are helping us in the rain which we hope and expect.”