Lowes Fourth and Bassani Eight...

The first race at the Portimao round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship took place under sunny skies and on a track surface that provided ideal conditions for Superpole Qualifying and Race One. bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team riders Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani finished fourth and eighth respectively in the first race of the Portuguese weekend.

In Superpole qualifying, Lowes ended up top bimota rider, in seventh place on the Race One grid. Bassani was tenth, just missing out on a third row start in what was a session characterised by particularly close competition for grid positions from the second row riders onwards.

In the 20-lap Race One, both bimota KB998 Rimini riders acquitted themselves well, with Lowes moving into fourth place on lap one. He was in fifth place for three laps, and soon after, he was fourth again. He would maintain that position from lap five to the chequered flag.

After Bassani made real progress through the field from his fourth row starting position, he was involved in a fight for sixth position with Xavi Vierge and Garrett Gerloff. He worked his way to the front of this mini-group but could not defend his position in the final phase of the race, due to a drop of rear grip.

With Alex finishing fourth and Axel eighth, the latter is still second overall in the championship standings before the two Sunday races at Portimao. Alex has now moved up to sixth place after four races of the 2026 season have been completed.

Sunday 29 March will feature two more WorldSBK races. The first will be the Tissot Superpole Race, over ten laps, and Race Two will end the Portuguese weekend.

Alex Lowes stated: “Not a podium but fourth place, so it was quite a good opening race. I struggled a bit more than expected with rear grip, but I enjoyed it. I was able to ride the bike quite well and I think we can make a couple of steps for tomorrow. I managed to beat my brother Sam - which is always nice - but he is a bit injured. I am excited for the races tomorrow and we will try to make another step forward to challenge for the podium. It is not too far.”

Axel Bassani stated: “Superpole was a little bit difficult because with the first soft tyre I did not completely use all that the tyre could give me. With the second tyre I lost something in the final part of the last corner on my out lap, as I wheelied a lot and I had to close the throttle. These were my mistakes but to start from P10 is not easy at this level of Superbike racing. When I got to P6 in the race my rear tyre was completely finished. I tried to manage it but in the last four laps Vierge and Gerloff overtook me and I finished P8. That was good because we took some points but for sure we can do better.”