Our shot from the back of the impressive main grandstand of the Autodromo internacional do Algarve, near the coastal town of Portimão. A permanent fixture in the WorldSBK calendar since 2008, the Covid pandemic has helped the Portuguese to hold regular MotoGP races since November 2020.

The seventh round of the WorldSBK in the Algarve

Due to the one-hour time difference in the rest of Europe, as on the weekend of the MotoGP event in Silverstone, the next WSBK races in Portugal will also take place at a rather late hour. After a far too long summer break between Misano and Donington, the next four-week break unfortunately follows after round seven on the Algarve. This is due to the now traditional poor planning by Dorna and FIM, which, as in MotoGP with Kazakhstan and India, also resulted in an embarrassing breakdown in the Superbike World Championship. After an earlier disaster with Hungarian organizers, those responsible for the WorldSBK fell for some unreliable people again 15 years later, just like they did at Lake Balaton. Unlike in 2009, this time there was even a track. But for some inexplicable reason, the organizers in the mafia-run country of the Magyars, which has one of the most despicable presidents as its ruler, did not fulfill their obligations to take necessary safety precautions at the Balaton Park Circuit. This led to a short-term change of plans, with the cancellation of the Hungary round on the second-to-last weekend in August and a replacement with Estoril in Portugal, just before the season finale in Jerez de la Frontera. Incidentally, Dorna also had a MotoGP contract with Hungarian “organizers”. Signed in 2019 for the years 2022 to 2026 in Debrecen, but that didn’t happen either. Due to the planning glitch with Hungary, we revised our calendar and angrily canceled the booking we had already made for the Hungary event near the Balaton Park Circuit for August 23-26.

Fortunately, with Magny-Cours as the next stop after Portimão after the second 4-week summer break, there is no risk of another fiasco like in Most (see our follow-up report on this page) or Hungary. The racing-mad French are exemplary organizers, whether for the Superbike World Championship or MotoGP, and in contrast to many others (such as Most or Cremona), they also have extremely fair prices.
Our photo of the beautifully situated track, located just 15 kilometers inland from the coast. In the picture, turn 5 (VIP Tower Corner) and behind it the back of the pit area with the huge main grandstand in the background.

Completed in record time – the site of Johnny Rea’s first WSBK race
The race track near the coastal town of Portimao was opened on October 31, 2008, just 7 months after construction began. The final construction work was only completed immediately before the first practice session for the WSBK final. Both races were won by Australian Troy Bayliss (Ducati). Leon Haslam managed third place in the second race on a Honda and wildcard starter Jonathan Rea (also on a Honda) finished fourth in the first race. It was the Northern Irishman’s debut in the WSBK for the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team, for which he also competed with great success in the following years. However, his breakthrough with his first title only came after he switched to Kawasaki, which marked the beginning of a series that is still unparalleled today. After difficult years from 2021, he switched to Yamaha this season, succeeding Toprak Razgatlioglu, which led to the most disastrous first half of his long career. The most successful rider in the history of the Superbike World Championship travels to Portugal only tenth in the interim classification and only the third-best Yamaha rider. Due to the top speed inferiority of his Yamaha due to the much lower maximum rpm, especially compared to the Ducati Panigale V4R, Johnny is once again considered an outsider, as he has been on the Kawasaki in recent years. Toprak is completely different, his BMW M-1000RR is only 600 rpm disadvantage compared to Ducati (the Yamaha R1 was 900), which is why he is also considered the favorite in Portugal.

Our photo of the record winner in the WSBK at the Autodromo do Algarve, the now six-time world champion Jonathan Rea on his Kawasaki ZX-10RR. The record world champion is having a hard time with the Yamaha R1, especially on new tires and therefore also in the Superpole. With this handicap and a lot of bad luck at the start of the season, he will have to hope for the coming season to catch up with the competition.

The year-round track on the Algarve and its special features
Thanks to the mild and balanced climate on the Atlantic coast in Portugal, the track can be used all year round. For this reason, Portimao is also a very popular course for testing, which can even be used in winter. The WSBK test drives in winter regularly took place on this track and in Jerez, while the other World Championship courses from November to March are not suitable for this. The 6-time World Champion Jonathan Rea says he likes this course very much, which is easy to understand given his successes on this track. From the 2nd race in 2014, he won all World Championship races in Portimão until 2018. However, no WSBK event was held in Portugal in 2016. However, the situation has changed since Ducati shocked the competition with drastic advantages in acceleration and top speed in 2019 with the MotoGP Replica Panigale V4R and the feather-light dwarf Alvaro Bautista. Benefiting from what many observers consider to be a highly questionable interpretation of the technical regulations by the FIM as the highest motorsport authority, the opponents of the Ducati factory team generally have virtually no chance, especially on long straights. The endless start-finish straight, a special feature of the Autodromo do Algarve, is therefore particularly convenient for the Ducati Panigale V4R and its riders.

The maximum engine speed for 2024 with the astronomically high value for the Ducati Panigale V4R, which gives this motorcycle enormous advantages in acceleration and top speed over the competition. The reaction to this advantage obtained by the FIM is the often heard saying in the paddock that Jorge Viegas as FIM President and the Dorna Ezpeleta family probably own a lot of Ducati shares.
Our shot of the VIP tower, perhaps the most striking trademark of the Autodromo internacional do Algarve. To the right of it is the entrance to turn 5, where many dramas have been witnessed in the MotoGP in the past. Perhaps the most spectacular of these was the senseless and ultimately failed attempt by “Pecco” Bagnaia in 2024 to squeeze past Marc Marquez (both Ducati), who had overtaken him just before, causing both of them to crash.

Popular with riders and fans

Even if it is not reflected in the number of visitors at the almost westernmost point of Europe, the track near the coastal town of Portimão is quite popular with drivers and fans. Faro airport is only three quarters of an hour away and it is just under two and a half hours’ drive from the Portuguese capital Lisbon. In contrast to many other tracks such as Aragon, BuriRam (after 2018 only used for MotoGP) or Spielberg, the range of accommodation options near the track is excellent. In contrast to the negative example of Most and Cremona, the ticket prices are also absolutely moderate, which is especially true for the cost of food. However, there is highly attractive competition in both areas with Assen, Donington, Jerez and the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, which is why many WSBK fans from southern and central Europe apparently find the journey too far and the stay too expensive. This is especially true because supposedly low-cost airlines such as EasyJet and RianAir have been charging horrendous surcharges for checked baggage and often associated priority boarding since the pandemic. Therefore, after bad experiences with the first-mentioned airline in particular (canceled flights without cost credit, voucher problems and the like), our enthusiasm for such adventures noticeably waned. For example, we preferred to visit Misano and Most with our Yamaha Fazer, which also has noticeable advantages in terms of traffic. On the other hand, we visited Assen in the bitterly cold April by car from nearby Germany.

In the main stand in front of one of the few open food stands in September 2019 – absolutely unthinkable images in times of the Covid pandemic the following year. The queue in front of unfortunately only 2 open counters for picking up pre-ordered tickets was even longer in the year of our snapshot. Anyone who came at the wrong time had to wait several hours to receive the tickets they had actually already bought and paid for. Given this background, it is absolutely incomprehensible that “print at home” was not possible at the time.

Details about the Autodromo do Algarve

It is one of the most demanding tracks on the calendar of both the Superbike World Championship and the MotoGP. Many visitors also particularly appreciate the fact that you can walk all the way around the track and that there is no crowding in the paddock, at least in the WorldSBK. As in Misano, for example, the number of refreshment stands is rather modest, but unlike the Italians, at least the price of drinks or sandwiches is not so horrendous. If you have to pay a whole 15 euros for a Coke and ham sandwich, as happened to us in Misano in 2024, and also have to pay 10 euros a day for parking (for a motorcycle!), the fun stops at some point. But as recently reported, many visitors also found the cheaper food prices compared to Italy to be of some use when they felt cheated when buying tickets. Fortunately, we don’t see much trouble for visitors for the next two rounds. Although there is only one main access to the track, annoyingly long traffic jams are not to be expected, at least on the WorldSBK weekend.

The track length of 4.684 kilometers is in the middle range in international comparison and the start-finish straight is relatively long at 969 meters. The Ducati drivers are already rubbing their hands in anticipation. With 9 right-hand and 6 left-hand bends, the track is driven clockwise. The Autodromo do Algarve is very attractive for both drivers and spectators due to its uphill and downhill sections.

WorldSBK winner statistics Portimão

The record with a total of 11 race wins and 2 sprint victories up to 2021 clearly goes to the record world champion Jonathan Rea. Only the Spaniard Alvaro Bautista was able to end the Northern Irishman’s series since 2014 in the second race of 2019 thanks to the overwhelming superiority of his Ducati Panigale V4R. The Northern Irishman was unable to counter the advantages of the Ducati MotoGP Replica in terms of top speed. Most of the time, Alvaro did not even need a slipstream to easily overtake up to three of his competitors on the endless start-finish straight. For this reason, and also because he had enormous advantages in acceleration thanks to his featherweight, Toprak did not manage to beat the tiny man from Talavera de la Reina on the Yamaha R1 last year, even though the Turk repeatedly overtook him in the corners and literally outclassed him. Alvaro kept overtaking on the long straight and, as is often the case, didn’t have to take any major risks in the corners, but still managed to take the win without any problems. But this time Razgatlioglu is riding the BMW M1000RR, which is one of the strongest and fastest motorcycles in the field alongside the Ducati. For this reason, the new BMW entry is even considered the top favorite for victory in Portugal.

Our statistics with the winners of the Superbike World Championship at the Autodromo do Algarve. When we were there in 2019, the winner of the first race and world champion of 2009 drove an acclaimed demonstration lap on the Yamaha R1. Ben Spies was the last Yamaha world champion before Toprak Razgatlioglu (2021) before he switched to MotoGP.
WorldSBK icons Troy Bayliss (Ducati) and Troy Corser (Suzuki) in the 2006 season, two years before the premiere in Portimão, where the man with the number 21 in the front of the picture took a double victory. For more on the earlier years of the Superbike World Championship, see our richly illustrated history on this page.

World Championship interim results before the Portimao weekend

The continuation of the monotony from the previous two years, when Bautista won almost at will, was somewhat surprisingly continued with Toprak as the outstanding pilot. However, in contrast to 2022 and 2023, it is clearly not due to the superiority of the motorcycle, although the BMW M-1000RR has obviously improved in many respects. However, the placings of van der Mark and the other BMW riders prove that the driver makes the difference this season.

Schedule for Portugal – with a first for Europe

For the first visit of the WorldSBK to Portugal, there is a completely new schedule with evening races, the likes of which are otherwise only known from the time when racing was still held in Losail in the desert state of Qatar due to the great heat. The return of the women’s WorldWCR championship means there is a full program after it had been on hiatus since Donington in mid-July and has only contested two rounds so far, while the premier class of the series-based world championship is competing for the seventh time this year. Although his manager and mentor recently announced his move to MotoGP somewhat prematurely, Toprak will also compete in the WorldSBK next year. The only strange thing is that Kenan Sofuoglu, Supersport record world champion in previous years, should actually be very familiar with his protégé’s contract with BMW until 2025. However, quite a few paddock members and visitors would have no problem seeing the Turk and his unfortunately often extremely reckless so-called “fans”, i.e. compatriots with their red and white flags, switch to the Prototype World Championship. From a sporting point of view, it is also a very interesting approach if Toprak really does make it to the MotoGP for the 2026 season.

Friday, 9th August (All times Local Time, UTC+1, in Central Europe +1 hour)
11:00-11:25 – WorldWCR Free Practice
11:40-12:05 – WorldSSP300 Free Practice
12:20-13:00 – WorldSSP Free Practice
13:15-14:00 – WorldSBK Free Practice 1
15:25-15:50 – WorldWCR Tissot Superpole
16:10-16:35 – WorldSSP300 Tissot Superpole
16:55-17:35 – WorldSSP Tissot Superpole
18:00-18:45 – WorldSBK Free Practice 2
Saturday, 10th August
11:00-11:10 – WorldWCR Warm Up
11:20-11:30 – WorldSSP300 Warm Up
11:40-11:50 – WorldSSP Warm Up
12:10-12:30 – WorldSBK Free Practice 3
13:45 – WorldWCR Race 1 (11 laps)
14:45-15:00 – WorldSBK Tissot Superpole
15:30 – WorldSSP300 Race 1 (11 laps)
16:30 – WorldSSP Race 1 (17 laps)
18:00 – WorldSBK Race 1 (20 laps)
Sunday, 11th August
11:00-11:10 – WorldWCR Warm Up
11:20-11:30 – WorldSSP300 Warm Up
11:40-11:50 – WorldSSP Warm Up
12:00-12:10 – WorldSBK Warm Up
13:45 – WorldWCR Race 2 (11 laps)
14:45 – WorldSBK Tissot Superpole Race (10 laps)
15:30 – WorldSSP300 Race 2 (11 laps)
16:30 – WorldSSP Race 2 (17 laps)
18:00 – WorldSBK Race 2 (20 laps)

Aerial view of the Autodromo do Algarve seen from the north. With the main grandstand and the nearest parking spaces in the background, which are not freely available on the WSBK weekend. There will certainly be plenty of spectacle on the track on the second weekend in August.

Unless otherwise stated, this applies to all images (© WorldSBK).