WorldSBK 2025
Round Two – Portimao
After securing his first triple victory at Phillip Island, Nicolo Bulega arrives at the first European round as the Championship leader with a very handy 26-point lead over Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team-mate Alvaro Bautista. Talk about hit the ground running…
Alvaro Bautista
“Australia is a special track, especially for Ducati, normally Ducati is very fast there, and we saw that all the Ducati riders can be fast there, but I don’t think that will be normal for all the tracks. In the test we did a few days ago, both BMWs were fast, the Bimotas were fast, it is more of a normal situation. What we saw in Australia was outside the norm because the machinery and the riders we both working very well there. I think this round we will see more of the reality of the Championship.”
And it is not just the Italian that has enjoyed a sensational start to the season but also Ducati as a brand, as for the first time since 2004, five Ducati riders occupy the top five positions in the standings after the opening round.
Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven), Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), and Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) hold 3rd, 4th, and 5th place, respectively. The last time this occurred was in 2004 when the top five included James Toseland, Regis Laconi, Frankie Chili, Garry McCoy, and Noriyuki Haga.
Reigning World Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) endured a challenging start to his title defence in Australia, scoring only 20 points at Phillip Island which puts him eighth in the standings. However, the Turk impressed during a recent weather-affected test at Portimao where he topped the time-sheets by a handy margin. The BMW man has won the last three WorldSBK races at Portimao and has six wins at the venue all-up.
Toprak Razgatlioglu
“Everyone knows last year’s BMW was very strong because we won many races, but the Ducati is a very strong bike. Ducati, every race weekend, are improving. Here, I think the riders are a big difference because this track is like a rollercoaster; it’s not only the bike that’s helping a lot, riders have to push hard, and for 20 laps, this is difficult because this track is up and down like a rollercoaster. It’s almost my favourite track, I’m always strong here but racing is different from testing.”
Among the fastest Ducatis at the Portimao test in March, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) started the season strongly in Australia, securing two top six finishes. The Brit aims to maintain this momentum as the Championship moves to Europe.
Jonathan Rea continues his recovery from surgery following his injury in Australia and will be replaced at Portimao by Jason O’Halloran.
Jason O’Halloran
“I’m really looking forward to the weekend – the last time I rode at Portimão was at a BSB test in 2019, but I really enjoyed the track and went quite well there. For sure this weekend will be a learning experience: first time on the Yamaha R1 WorldSBK and first time back at the track for a long time. Obviously most of the guys from the championship had a test there recently and we’ll be playing catch up, but the most important thing for us this weekend is just to enjoy it, for me to understand the bike and gain as much knowledge and experience as possible to help with Yamaha’s testing programme going forwards. I’m looking forward to getting started, it’s the beginning of a busy few weeks for me but it’s a pleasure to be joining Pata Maxus Yamaha in Portimão.”
Countryman Remy Gardner had a disastrous start to the season on home turf but was quick at the recent Portimao Test and will be looking to get his championship tally moving in Portugal.
Remy Gardner
“We had a really good test a few days ago, which gives us confidence heading into Round 2. Our overall pace was promising, and I can’t wait to get back on track at the Portimão rollercoaster. Hopefully, the weather will be on our side. It’ll be important to start strong on Friday to build momentum for a solid race weekend.”
bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team duo Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani left the test with contrasting feelings; Lowes feeling ‘the best he has’ on the Bimota, Bassani finishing it without a good feeling. After showing good pace in winter testing, Australia was tricky for Kawasaki and Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) but can the return to Europe be a new leaf for the team?
Alex Lowes
“I am excited to get back into action. It was important to get the first round in our new colours out of the way at Phillip Island. Since then we have had the Portimao test, which was quite affected by the weather. But, even in the limited running that we had in dry conditions, we made some steps forward with my feeling on the front of the bike. This was really positive and one of the key areas to improve on after the first round. I just wanted to have a bit more confidence to be able to race a little bit better, as I found it difficult to pass other riders in Australia. Our Portimao test was positive and all of the guys in Team 22 worked really well. Of course, this is a new project and we are learning every day. We need to keep working hard on Friday in Portugal to try and improve on our race results from the first weekend. That is our target, to be fighting in the top six. Any more than that will be a bonus but we will be doing our best. I am excited for the weekend. I have been training hard, working hard and enjoying some time with the family. I am certainly ready to get back into race action.”
Iker Lecuona was sidelined from the Australian round due to a broken foot, which also forced him to miss the recent Portimao Test but the HRC rider expects to compete this weekend if he passes a medical check on Thursday.
WorldSBK Championship Points
|
Pos
|
Rider
|
Points
|
|
1
|
N. Bulega
|
62
|
|
2
|
A. Bautista
|
36
|
|
3
|
A. Iannone
|
35
|
|
4
|
D. Petrucci
|
31
|
|
5
|
S. Redding
|
30
|
|
6
|
A. Locatelli
|
22
|
|
7
|
S. Lowes
|
21
|
|
8
|
T. Razgatlioglu
|
20
|
|
9
|
A. Lowes
|
19
|
|
10
|
A. Bassani
|
14
|
|
11
|
X. Vierge
|
10
|
|
12
|
Y. Montella
|
9
|
|
13
|
D. Aegerter
|
8
|
|
14
|
R. Vickers
|
4
|
|
15
|
T. Nagashima
|
2
|
|
16
|
B. Sofuoglu
|
1
|
WorldSSP
After taking a victory and a second place each at Phillip Island, Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) and Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) arrive in Portugal level pegged in the standings with 45 points each. MV Agusta Reparto Corse’s Bo Bendsneyder stands in third place with 29 points claimed in Australia, despite his injury from the Superpole.
With Yari Montella having stepped up to WorldSBK, Stefano Manzi is the last winner at Portimao from the current WorldSSP grid with his 2023 victory. But he’s not the only winner there, as Federico Caricasulo (Motozoo ME air Racing) won here in 2019 and Lucas Mahias (GMT94-YAMAHA) in 2018. In 2024, both Stefano Manzi and Valentin Debise, now racing with Renzi Corse, claimed podium finishes here.
Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) topped the WorldSSP time-sheets on both days of the private test at Portimao organised ahead of the round where Yamaha riders dominated, but much of the field was not in attendance.
Oli Bayliss really started to gel with the Triumph as the week of testing and then racing unfolded at Phillip Island and is looking to make 2025 his breakthrough year.
Countryman Luke Power also showed some good speed at times across the season opening weekend and put some good runs on the board to set him up for the long season ahead.
Having stepped up from WorldWCR, Reigning Champion Ana Carrasco will make her 2025 debut in Supersport with the new Honda Racing World Supersport team after missing the Phillip Island season opener.
After being declared unfit during the Official Test at Phillip Island, Phillip Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team), Yuki Okamoto (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing), Federico Caricasulo and Glenn van Straalen (D34G WorldSSP Racing Team) are set to take part in their first race of the season in Portimao.
WorldSSP Championship Points
|
Pos
|
Rider
|
Points
|
|
1
|
T. Booth-Amos
|
45
|
|
2
|
S. Manzi
|
45
|
|
3
|
B. Bendsneyder
|
29
|
|
4
|
O. Bayliss
|
18
|
|
5
|
J. Alcoba
|
17
|
|
6
|
L. Mahias
|
17
|
|
7
|
M. Schroetter
|
16
|
|
8
|
M. Rinaldi
|
13
|
|
9
|
C. Oncu
|
11
|
|
10
|
J. Masia
|
10
|
|
11
|
K. Toba
|
9
|
|
12
|
O. Vostatek
|
9
|
|
13
|
L. Power
|
9
|
|
14
|
X. Cardelus
|
8
|
|
15
|
V. Debise
|
8
|
|
16
|
N. Antonelli
|
5
|
|
17
|
S. Jespersen
|
5
|
|
18
|
A. Mahendra
|
3
|
|
19
|
H. Voight
|
2
|
|
20
|
L. Taccini
|
1
|
WorldSSP300
A mix of experienced race winners and promising newcomers make up the 2025 WorldSSP300 grid.
Julio Garcia (Prodina Kawasaki Racing Sport) returns for his fourth season competing in WorldSSP300, the -five-time podium-finisher rider returning to Kawasaki machinery after a season riding with Kove in his first full season of WorldSSP300 competition. Among his opposition, is two-time Champion Jefferey Buis (Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing) who returns with his same team, looking to put an exclamation point on his case for the best WorldSSP300 rider of all time, as he already holds the most World Championships with two. Returning for MTM Kawasaki, Mirko Gennai will return for his sixth season in WorldSSP300, earning 14 podiums in that time.
Marco Gaggi will return for his fourth full season with Team BrCorse atop their Yamaha R3, alongside Elia Bartolini in what will be his second season in WorldSSP300. Both riders were frequently in the top ten in 2024 and will look to improve on that watermark in 2025. Pepe Osuna (ZAPPAS-DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team) returns for his second season with the team, being joined by Uriel Hidalgo.
Returning to ride alongside Jeffery Buis, German rider Phillip Tonn is back with Freudenberg KTM-Paligo Racing in 2025.
Unai Catalyud returns for ARCO MotorR University Team, this year joined full-time by Gonzalo Sanchez who took part in 2024 only as a wildcard entry.
After getting his chance with Team ProDina XCI as a replacement rider in 2024, Antonio Torres has punched his ticket onto the WorldSSP300 grid and now will compete alongside David Salvador.
Entering his fourth season in 2025, Italian rider Matteo Vannucci will look to get back on the horse after a 19th place finish in 2024, a step back after a fifth-place finish in 2023.
Giacomo Zannini returns atop Kawasaki machinery for the second time in his two-year WorldSSP300 career, he will look to build on his 2024 season as he struggled to find his footing with their package.
Rounding out Accolade Smrz Racing BGR’s pairing, Czech rider Filip Novotny returns to race alongside Kevin Sabatucci in 2025.
After appearing for a single round in 2024, Portuguese rider Tomas Alonso returns for Pons Motosport Italka Racing.
After making a one-round appearance in 2024 for Racestar Trasimeno, Emanuele Cazzaniga has earned a full-time spot on the team, representing them as their sole rider. Uriel Hidalgo (ZAPPAS-DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team) will return to the grid, this time as a permanent fixture to the grid.
Representing Yamaha AD78 FIMLA by MS Racing, Kevin Fontainha will return for his third year in World Supersport 300.
David Salvador (Team ProDina XCI) will compete this season atop new Kawasaki machinery after his 2024 rookie year spent riding on a Yamaha with DEZA-BOX 77 Racing Team. Making the inverse move, Juan Risueno has moved from Kawasaki GP Project’s Kawasaki Ninja to MS Racing’s Yamaha R3.
Changing teams, while staying with the same platform, Aussie rider Carter Thompson moved from Fusport-RT Motorsport by SKM- Kawasaki to MTM Kawasaki. Thompson impressed fans and other teams alike with his two podiums across just his 8 races.
Thompson’s 2024 team-mate, Petr Svoboda made a move of his own, joining the Kawasaki Junior Team by MTM. Svoboda is not the only rider who will feature for that team, he will be joined by Roberto Fernandez, who joined from Arco Sash MotoR University Team after competing with them in 2024 as a substitute rider.
Kevin Sabatucci will join Czech team Accolade Funds Smrz Racing BGR and their Kawasaki bike after competing in 2024 with Team Flembbo-PL Performances.
Humberto Maier will move from MS Racing to Yamaha AD78 FIMLA by MS Racing.
Re-joining WorldSSP300 after winning the FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup last year, Mallorcan rider Marc Vich returns to the grid with wind in his sails. Emiliano Ercolani made the jump from Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSSP300 Team to Team Kawasaki GP Project.
While he rode with Arco Sash MotoR University Team as a replacement in 2024, 2025 brings change for Roberto Fernandez. The Madrid native has changed teams to Kawasaki Junior Team by MTM where he will race for the first time with Kawasaki in WorldSSP300.
Australian 16-year-old rider Cam Swain brings experience from Australian Supersport 300, Asian Talent Cup, and most recently, a 9th place finish in the Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup.
Benat Fernandez will ride this season’s only Kove 321 RR-S, the Spanish rider from San Sebastian hoping to start his career in this class on a strong note.
The 2025 WorldSSP300 season marks the final chapter of the category in its current format, with a new entry-level class set to debut in 2026.
2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship Calendar
| Date | Circuit | WorldSBK | WorldSSP | SSP300 | WCR |
| 21-23 Feb | Phillip Island | X | X | ||
| 28-30 Mar | Portimao | X | X | X | |
| 11-12 Apr | Assen | X | X | X | X |
| 2-4 May | Cremona | X | X | X | |
| 16-18 May | Most | X | X | X | |
| 13-15 Jun | Misano | X | X | X | |
| 11-13 Jul | Donington | X | X | X | |
| 25-27 Jul | Balaton Park | X | X | X | |
| 5-7 Sep | Magny-Cours | X | X | X | X |
| 26-28 Sep | Aragon | X | X | X | |
| 10-12 Oct | Estoril | X | X | X | |
| 17-19 Oct | Jerez | X | X | X | X |
