11:01
Crash for Gerloff braking down the hill into turn eight. Made a bit of a mess of the bike's bodywork but not much else by the looks of it. Session over for the American, though, with four minutes to go.
Nicolo Bulega, 2026 Italian WorldSBK. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
LIVE
Estoril WorldSBK LIVE: Updates from Friday practice in Portugal
Live coverage of the Friday practice sessions at the 2026 Estoril WorldSBK, the penultimate round of the season.
Live updates from the Friday practice sessions at the Estoril WorldSBK, the 11th and penultimate round of the 2026 championship. FP1 is due to start at 10:20 local time, with FP2 coming up this afternoon at 15:00.
Key Moments
- Gerloff's session ends early with turn eight crash
- Ducatis set early pace in FP1 as Bridewell crashes
WorldSBK arrives at Estoril for its penultimate round of 2026 with all three titles wrapped up. Ducati won the manufacturers' and its factory squad won the teams' title at Donington, while Nicolo Bulega was crowned riders' champion at Cremona two weeks ago.
There is still a fight for third in the championship between Yari Montella, Alex Lowes, and Sam Lowes, although the latter's crash in Race 2 at Cremona leaves him 50 points behind Montella, who has 43 points over Alex Lowes. Montella could secure third place this weekend, but he'd need to be 63 points ahead of both Lowes brothers, meaning he needs to extend his advantage to fourth place by 20 points in this weekend's three races.
Third place in the championship would also make Montella the independent riders' champion. His Barni Ducati team wrapped up the independent teams' title at Cremona thanks to the Italian's P4 in the Superpole Race.
With Barni in mind, Montella's team-mate Alvaro Bautista admitted yesterday that he does not yet have any options for 2027 that "motivate" him. The Spaniard has endured a tough season so far, and at this stage it is a distinct possibility that 2026 could prove to be the two-time champion's final year in the series.
The same could also be true for Danilo Petrucci, who will leave BMW at the end of this season to make way for Brad Binder. But the three-time race winner said yesterday that he has had talks with GoEleven about a move there for next season.
09 Oct 2026
11:07
Bulega tops FP1
Chequered flag is out in Estoril to bring an end to FP1. Bulega ends fastest ahead of Surra, who improved late on, and Lecuona.
Alex Lowes, Vierge, Bautista, Sam Lowes, Baldassarri, Montella, and Oliveira complete the top-10.
10:56
Just as Lecuona closed the gap, Bulega has opened it back out again - 1m35.546s puts him 0.379s clear of his team-mate, who is the only other rider in the 1m35s.
10:55
Bautista has dropped to sixth now, but has just put in a personal best, so still lapping well.
Personal best there from Lecuona as well, who moves to within 0.236s of his team-mate now. Losing most of his time in the final split compared to Bulega.
10:52
A lot of riders back in the pits at the moment and those who are on track are with used tyres, so not a lot of personal bests coming in at the moment.
10:46
Bautista having a solid session so far in P4, albeit almost 0.8s off the pace.
Alex Lowes even better - third and half-a-tenth behind Lecuona.
10:37
15 minutes into FP1 now and Bulega has hit the top, he's 0.338s ahead of Lecuona and the only rider in the 1m35s.
10:31
Bez returns
Loris Baz is back this weekend replacing Tarran Mackenzie. The Frenchman will also ride in Jerez next week, Mackenzie having been forced to end his season after his FP2 crash at Donington. 17th at the moment for Baz.
Full story here.
Loris Baz, 2026 Italian WorldSBK. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
10:29
Ducatis to the top now and into the 1m36s, Lecuona a tenth ahead of Bulega.
10:29
Crash for Bridewell at turn 10. He's back on and trying to fire back up to get back to the pits.
10:28
Mistake from Chantra, he runs on a turn one. Baldassarri followed him in. P14 at the minute for Chantra, who renewed with Honda for 2027 earlier this week.
10:27
Times are a way off it at the moment, must be said. Pole record is a 1m34.203s by Razgatlioglu last year, race record a 34.973s in the Superpole Race by Bulega, who also had the fastest lap in Race 2 last year, which he won of course.
10:25
1m37.802s gives Oliveira the early top spot in FP1 with five minutes on the clock.
10:20
FP1 start
Pit lane is open in Estoril and we're underway for FP1 at the penultimate round of 2026.
10:16
Conditions
Just under five minutes to go until FP1 starts in Estoril. 20C air temperature and 23C track temperature, so a warm-ish start to the day.
10:10
WorldWCR makes bike change
Some news outside WorldSBK that broke this morning is the WorldWCR series switching from Yamaha R7 to CFMoto 675SR-R machinery for 2027.
The new bike will bring more power and performance to the women-only class in a deal that will last until 2029.
Full story here.
WorldWCR race start, 2026 UK WorldSBK. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
10:02
Petrucci still has WorldSBK options
Two weeks ago it seemed that Danilo Petrucci was entering the final races of his WorldSBK career. By now, that is still possible, but the Italian said yesterday that he still has a chance to stay in WorldSBK as he has been talking with the GoEleven Ducati team.
Full story here.
Danilo Petrucci, 2026 Italian WorldSBK, grid. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
09:52
Oliveira's Estoril memories
Estoril is a second home round for Miguel Oliveira in his rookie WorldSBK season, after Portimao.
The former MotoGP rider hasn't raced there since 2012 in Moto3 when he retired, but he says the track remains "vivid" for him after testing there in the summer.
Full story here.
Miguel Oliveira, 2026 French WorldSBK, pit box. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
09:47
Bautista's uninspiring options
Alvaro Bautista is still without confirmation of his future beyond the end of this season. He said yesterday that the options he has at the moment do not motivate him to keep racing in 2027, when he will turn 42.
Full story here.
Alvaro Bautista, 2026 Italian WorldSBK, pit box. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
09:42
Welcome to live coverage of today's WorldSBK action from Estoril, where FP1 is due to start in just under 40 minutes.