11:29
Alex Lowes up to second, some lap that on the Bimota to go 0.5s behind Bulega.
Doesn't last long, though, as Lecuona goes 1m34.041s for second. Lowes stays third, though, ahead of Surra.
Nicolo Bulega, 2026 Estoril WorldSBK. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
LIVE
Estoril WorldSBK LIVE: Updates from Superpole in Portugal
Live coverage of the Superpole session at the 2026 Estoril WorldSBK, the penultimate round of the season.
Live updates from the Superpole session at the 2026 Estoril WorldSBK. Superpole is due to start at 11:15 local time, with Race 1 coming up this afternoon at 15:30.
Key Moments
- Bulega under the lap record on lap one of Superpole
Newly crowned champion Nicolo Bulega comes into Saturday as the fastest from Friday, when he topped both sessions despite feeling as though he still has margin to find.
Alberto Surra was second-fastest in both sessions yesterday, although he used a new tyre to do it, while Iker Lecuona was third.
Honda had a decent day with Jake Dixon in the top-10, while Somkiat Chantra was 13th overall and trying to implement some things he used in MotoGP at Motegi when he filled in for Joan Mir.
Miguel Oliveira had a better day for BMW, finishing fourth. The Portuguese rider said he had to make some changes in the afternoon to fine-tune his feeling on the bike, and noted that there is a "delicate" situation with the front tyre choicethis weekend.
In the battle for third in the championship, Yari Montella was faster than both Sam Lowes and Alex Lowes in FP2. The Italian could wrap up the bronze medal this weekend, but needs to extend his lead over fourth by 20 points by the end of Sunday in order to do so.
10 Oct 2026
11:36
Superpole Result
2026 estoril worldsbk - superpole result
Nicolo Bulega, 2026 Estoril WorldSBK. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
11:31
Bulega takes Estoril pole
It's pole position for Nicolo Bulega in Estoril, he's the only rider in the 1m33s.
Lecuona second from Alex Lowes who completes the front row.
Surra, Oliveira, Montella Dixon, Bassani, Baldassarri, and Sam Lowes complete the top-10. Gerloff and Bautista will join Lowes on the fourth row.
11:28
Oliveira up to fourth on his latest lap. Petrucci was briefly 10th but he's been pushed to 11th as Sam Lowes goes up to ninth.
11:27
Bulega improves on the first lap of his second run and he's into the 1m33s! That's a first-ever.
Baldassarri in his tow on that lap, improved but stayed P8.
11:22
First runs complete in Superpole. Here's your top-10 at the moment:
- Bulega
- Surra
- Lecuona
- A. Lowes
- Oliveira
- Montella
- Bassani
- Baldassarri
- Gerloff
- Bautista
11:21
1.34.542s puts Lecuona up to third with his first representative lap, but 0.4s behind Bulega.
11:20
Bulega with a lap record to start with - 1m34.105s on his first lap. Fair to say he's back to the kind of form he had pre-Cremona.
Surra second at the moment, then Oliveira.
11:15
Superpole start
Pit lane is open in Estoril and we're underway for 15 minutes of Superpole.
11:08
Conditions
Dry weather for Superpole, which is just under 10 minutes away now. We have 22C air temperature and 27C on the track at the moment, so quite good conditions to be pushing for a time attack.
10:59
Could Lowes beat Ducati to pole?
The factory Ducati team has taken every pole position this year. Nine of them have gone to Nicolo Bulega, while Iker Lecuona took his first of the season at Cremona two weeks ago.
Alex Lowes' time-topping lap in FP3 would seemingly put him in the frame to break the Aruba team's stranglehold on Superpole, but can he really get it done when it matters?
Alex Lowes, 2026 Estoril WorldSBK. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
10:47
Gardner's injury
Remy Gardner is riding this weekend with an injured wrist. He was unfit for Cremona after crashing in practice, which resulted in the injury. The Australian was declared fit yesterday when he was assessed after FP1, and finished FP3 17th this morning.
10:40
Check out this ridiculous save from Yari Montella in FP3 this morning. The tyres are barely in contact with the ground and he still pulls it back!
10:37
FP3 Result
2026 estoril worldsbk - fp3 result
Alex Lowes, 2026 Estoril WorldSBK. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
10:35
Welcome to live coverage of today's WorldSBK action from Estoril, where Superpole is due to start in 40 minutes at 11:15 local time.