Jonathan Rea will make a second appearance in 2026 at the Dutch Round in Assen on 17 to 19 April, again standing in for Jake Dixon, whose return has been pushed back to the Hungarian Round in May. Rea has 17 wins at Assen and will be hoping the extra recovery time puts him in far better shape than Portimao.
Jonathan Rea came out of retirement to race for Honda at Portimao, standing in for injured Jake Dixon. The six time champion admitted he was not ready for the weekend after missing the top ten in all three races, revealing he had undergone two surgeries since his retirement and that 20 lap race distances came as a physical shock.
Nicolo Bulega swept all three races at Portimao, leading every single one of the 50 racing laps across the weekend. The Ducati factory rider now leads the 2026 WorldSBK championship by 56 points over teammate Iker Lecuona. Six wins from six races. Nobody is laying a glove on him.
Nicolo Bulega won all six races across the opening two WorldSBK rounds of 2026. His lead over Axel Bassani extended from 20 to 37 points after Portimao, with Lecuona third and Oliveira fourth in the standings. Bulega thanked his team for their work after what he described as a difficult start to the weekend on Friday. Six wins. Two rounds.
Miguel Oliveira delivered an extraordinary home round at Portimao, taking three consecutive podiums on his BMW in front of his home crowd. He pushed Lecuona hard in the Superpole Race, his tyre beginning to fade in the closing laps before running out of time to complete the overtake on the last lap. Three podiums in his home round on a BMW. The Algarve crowd will remember this weekend for years.
Nicolo Bulega completed a perfect Portimao weekend by winning Race 2, taking all three victories across the round. The identical top five from Race 1 repeated itself with Lecuona second and Oliveira third, Lowes fourth and Sam Lowes fifth. Six wins from six races across the opening two rounds of 2026. Bulega is not just winning. He is lapping the competition in points.
Nicolo Bulega claimed his fourth win of the 2026 season at Portimao, his first ever WorldSBK victory at this circuit, with factory Ducati teammate Iker Lecuona completing a Ducati one-two. Miguel Oliveira took a stunning third place for his first ever WorldSBK podium in front of his home crowd. Alex Lowes fourth. Bautista ninth. Bulega remains unbeaten in 2026. Four rounds. Four wins. Unstoppable.
Yari Montella secured his second consecutive front row start of the 2026 season at Portimao, completing an all Ducati front row alongside Bulega and Lecuona. The Italian admitted he needs something more despite his strong showing, feeling he left time on the table in Superpole. He had zero front row starts in 2025. Two rounds into 2026 he already has two. The Barni Ducati is a genuine front runner this season.
Nicolo Bulega starts from pole position for Race 1 at Portimao today at 15:30 local time, his third consecutive Superpole after Australia and Jerez last year. The podium could be an all Ducati affair with Lecuona and Montella joining him on the front row, and Sam Lowes the only major wildcard despite being five weeks from a fractured wrist. Bulega has never won a WorldSBK race at Portimao. Today that changes.
Miguel Oliveira was black flagged in FP3 at Portimao after crashing at Turn 5 and failing to pit before starting a new lap. The regulation requiring riders to return to the pits after a crash is specific to WorldSBK and does not exist in MotoGP. Oliveira clearly forgot the rule applies. A painful lesson for the Portuguese rider at his home round.