WorldSBK test chaos as Portugal weather warnings cause cancellations

WorldSBK’s second test of 2026 has been moved due to bad weather in southern Portugal.

The final European test of the 2026 World Superbike preseason was due to take place at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on 28–29 January, but southern Portugal has been battered by bad weather this week, and that is due to continue on Wednesday and Thursday for when the test was scheduled.

The test was organised by Ducati and BMW, who have both now cancelled. BMW was also due to do its season presentation event in Portimao today (27 January), but that was cancelled, too.

Italian publication GPOne reports that BMW has now switched its plans, meaning it will now head to Valencia to ride there with Miguel Oliveira and Danilo Petrucci instead. However, this riding will be conducted as part of a track day session that was already organised, and so not a true ‘test’. 

The weather at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo is due to be not as severe as that in Portimao, which is forecast to experience winds of up to around 60mph tomorrow, but there is rain forecast for Wednesday morning and into the early afternoon in Valencia.

The weather-affected testing this week comes after rain hit last week’s test in Jerez on 21–22 January, with many riders not taking to the track until the afternoon of the second day which was still affected by patchy track conditions. The fastest lap times in Jerez last week were still around three seconds slower than the pole position time from last October’s Spanish Round.

For both BMW and Ducati, the bad weather has presented problems in a tricky moment: BMW has two new riders trying to adapt to its M1000 RR, while Ducati has an all-new Panigale V4 R to dial in before the season.

Other manufacturers, too, are affected by the bad weather: Honda is losing out on mileage with its rookie Jake Dixon (Somkiat Chantra is out of action anyway through injury); Yamaha is missing track time with its rookie Stefano Manzi and Jonathan Rea’s replacement Xavi Vierge; Bimota is only one year into its project; and Kawasaki has an updated ZX-10RR for Garrett Gerloff.