After finishing second in the opening session of the day, Michael Ruben Rinaldi went one better in the afternoon to end day-one of the Portimao WorldSBK test quickest.
GRT Yamaha have officially taken the covers off their 2023 WorldSBK machine as Dominique Aegerter and Remy Gardner get set for their second pre-season test of the year.
Back-to-back top ten finishes during the two-day WorldSBK test at Jerez has left Danilo Petrucci feeling strong about his performance ahead of Portimao, although ‘I still don’t have the bike 100% in my hands’, says the Italian.
Less than a week after the opening WorldSBK test of 2023 at Jerez, the action ramps up again with another two-day test at Portimao, beginning on Tuesday.
Iker Lecuona has ended the opening WorldSBK test of 2023 in a ‘much happier’ place after brake issues throughout day-one saw him struggle to unlock the Honda's true potential.
New WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista has pointed to his prior experience in MotoGP as the leading reason for why he conserved tyre life better than his rivals in 2022.
Pol Espargaro enjoyed a much-needed return to form at Phillip Island after claiming third place on combined practice times during Friday at the Australian MotoGP.
Scott Redding is continuing to push BMW for significant upgrades following another tough WorldSBK outing in Portimao, saying ‘I want to be ready for next year’.
Jonathan Rea has asked Kawasaki to bring more power to its ZX-10RR next season after calling his attempts to battle WorldSBK series leader Alvaro Bautista ‘demoralising’ in Portimao.
WorldSBK series leader Alvaro Bautista jokes ‘I need that Yamaha don’t help Toprak Razgatlioglu’ as conversations with Ducati Corse General Manager, Gigi Dall’Igna, are taking place after each race in order to improve the Panigale V4 R for 2023.
After following both riders before going on to overtake his two title rivals and win race two at Portimao, WorldSBK championship leader Alvaro Bautista has claimed Jonathan Rea is ‘struggling’.
Current WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu has claimed Ducati has ‘too much power’ after Alvaro Bautista once again showed alarming speed differences between the two bikes at Portimao.
Jonathan Rea says he has ‘no regrets’ and that ‘I did my best’ in Portimao after failing to secure a WorldSBK win in the Algarve for the first time since 2013 - Portuguese round was not held in 2016.
After previewing this level of potential in race one and the Superpole race, Alvaro Bautista made the most of his late race pace in order to secure his 12th WorldSBK win of the season during race two at Portimao.
After an impressive opening few laps to race one of the Portimao WorldSBK round, Jonathan Rea had no answer for title rivals Toprak Razgatlioglu and Alvaro Bautista.
Despite taking his ninth WorldSBK victory of the season Toprak Razgatlioglu was in no mood to celebrate in parc ferme, instead sending his best wishes to WorldSSP300 rider Victor Steeman after the Dutch rider was taken to hospital with polytrauma and head injuries.