Razgatlioglu, Rea, Bautista to headline Portimao WorldSBK test
WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, Jonathan Rea and Alvaro Bautista are set to headline next week’s Portimao test.
The two-day Superbike test at the Algarve International Circuit follows on from last week’s two-day outing at Jerez in which only Kawasaki and Team HRC attended.
While Honda are set to skip the Portimao test as are BMW - German manufacturer is set to commence testing in March - Kawasaki, Yamaha and Ducati are all officially confirmed.
The entire list of WorldSBK riders set to for action includes:
Pata Yamaha with Brixx WorldSBK Team: Toprak Razgatlioglu/Andrea Locatelli
Gil Motor Sport Yamaha: Christophe Ponsson
Kawasaki Racing Team: Jonathan Rea/Alex Lowes
Aruba.it Racing Ducati: Alvaro Bautista/Michael Rinaldi
Barni Spark Racing Ducati Team: Luca Bernardi
GoEleven Ducati: Philipp Oettl
Also in action for Ducati will be former MotoGP rider and Dakar Rally stage winner Danilo Petrucci as he begins preparations ahead of a move to MotoAmerica. Petrucci will be riding as the official Ducati test rider.
As was the case in Jerez, there will be several WorldSSP riders in action. Last week was the turn of Kawasaki and MV Agusta Reparto Corse, however, Portimao will see WorldSSP returnees Ducati and Triumph complete their first official test since coming back to the intermediate class.
Ex-Moto2 and current Sky VR46 academy rider Stefano Manzi will be alongside Hannes Soomer for the new Dynavolt Triumph Team, while at Ducati, Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it), Oli Bayliss (Barni) and former Moto3 rider Maximilian Kofler (CM Racing) will also be in action.
