As in the MotoGP in Mugello on the same weekend, the WorldSBK event is a so-called ghost race, in which only a few privileged visitors are allowed.

After Day one of WorldSBK round 2 in Portugal

After his best time on Friday morning, Toprak Razgatlioglu was almost hyped up as the winner of the weekend. But there were no winners at FP1 and FP2 because, in contrast to MotoGP, it is a pure training session and pole position will be contested on Saturday morning. There was a loser with Leandro Mercado before the weekend. His team MIE Honda withdrew after the first race with questionable explanations and the Argentine is the one to suffer along with the sport and his fans. One man, Alvaro Bautista, was as good as one of the losers on Friday. The fast little Spaniard crashed again on the HRC Honda after two crashes in the morning right at the beginning of FP2. Shortly before half-time in the second free practice session, BMW ace Tom Sykes also fell in the first corner, like Bautista before.

The worst hit was Kohta Nozane (GRT Yamaha) in the finish curve a few minutes before the end – who then first stayed on the ground for the first time, whereupon red flags were waved.

How meaningful are the results from Friday?
If you read the headlines of some portals, you might think that there are points to be won on the first day. However, the truth is different, and it is primarily and really only about an optimal set-up for on Saturday. In this respect, similar to tests, it is often not possible to estimate which strategy and what type of tires the drivers are using in order to interpret the times they have driven. In this respect, one should also be careful not to overestimate the good results of Eugene Laverty and Jonas Folger compared to the two BMW works drivers in FP1. Nevertheless, especially with the Northern Irishman, it is reassuring to see him doing so well after completely inadequate preparation. However, the moment of truth only strikes in the race, even the Superpole on Saturday can provide a picture that is deceptive.

Toprak Razgatlioglu in the Pata Yamaha with Brixx Box – unsurprisingly, the Turk made an excellent impression. He had been the best in Estoril in October 2020.

The result from the second free practice

In the last two and a half minutes after the crash of the Japanese there were still many drivers on the track, but the hunt for the best time was of course only possible for a single lap. Toprak took a trip into the grass, with which he could no longer improve. Second fastest behind the Turk, who remained in the lead after FP2, was Redding ahead of Rinaldi, Gerloff, Rea and Lowes. In the combined list, Rea would be P3, but the informative value is fundamentally very limited. In contrast to MotoGP, the times driven are of course only of minor importance, because the starting grid is only about in the Superpole on Saturday. And then everything is still open.

P, No, Rider, Bike, Time(,Gap), km/h
1, 54, RAZGATLIOGLU Toprak, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’37.284, , 319
2, 45, REDDING Scott, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 1’37.334, +0.050, 320
3, 21, RINALDI Michael Ruben, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 1’37.815, +0.531, 321
4, 31, GERLOFF Garrett, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’37.826, +0.542, 320
5, 1, REA Jonathan, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1’37.831, +0.547, 322
6, 22, LOWES Alex, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1’37.836, +0.552, 320
7, 66, SYKES Tom, BMW M 1000 RR, 1’38.039, +0.755, 315
8, 50, LAVERTY Eugene, BMW M 1000 RR, 1’38.123, +0.839, 322
9, 94, FOLGER Jonas, BMW M 1000 RR, 1’38.140, +0.856, 318
10, 55, LOCATELLI Andrea, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’38.254, +0.970, 318
11, 60, VAN DER MARK Michael, BMW M 1000 RR, 1’38.293, 1.009, 319
12, 91, HASLAM Leon, Honda CBR1000 RR-R, 1’38.427, 1.143, 320
13, 19, BAUTISTA Alvaro, Honda CBR1000 RR-R, 1’38.469, 1.185, 324
14, 44, MAHIAS Lucas, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1’38.483, 1.199, 316
15, 7, DAVIES Chaz, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 1’38.644, 1.360, 316
16, 53, RABAT Tito, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 1’38.710, 1.426, 321
17, 47, BASSANI Axel, Ducati Panigale V4 R, 1’38.716, 1.432, 318
18, 3, NOZANE Kohta, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’39.036, 1.752, 314
19, 32, VINALES Isaac, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1’39.237, 1.953, 312
20, 23, PONSSON Christophe, Yamaha YZF R1, 1’39.723, 2.439, 312
21, 76, CAVALIERI Samuele, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1’40.878, 3.594, 303
22, 84, CRESSON Loris, Kawasaki ZX-10RR, 1’41.205, 3.921, 315

Stand in the WorldSBK and WSSP 600 world championships

The running results highlighted in blue mean that they were started as a rain race.

Circuito do Estoril

The Circuito do Estoril offers a similar layout to the Autodromo do Algarve near Portimão, but much less up and down. Curves 1, the very narrow 9 and target curve 13 are particularly tricky here.

The combined schedule of Mugello MotoGP and WorldSBK Estoril

>WSBK Estoril and MotoGP Mugello preview: see separate report on this page.

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