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Race 2 Top 5 For Bassani In Portugal
The penultimate round of the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship concluded on Sunday, October 11, with the best single result for the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team squad being fifth in Race 2 for Axel Bassani.
With two WorldSBK races on the Sunday schedule, Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani lined up third and eighth on the grid for the Superpole Race, the results of which would then determine their starting positions for the final 21-lap Race 2.
In the 10-lap Superpole Race, Lowes found immediate misfortune when he was squeezed between Miguel Oliveira and Yari Montella into Turn 1 on Lap 1. A contact by Montella broke the bimota KB998 Rimini’s winglet off and sent Lowes way off track. He recovered from this unwelcome experience to get back into racing action, but was suddenly at the back of the field. He then put in a remarkable ride to get up to 11th position at the flag.
Bassani's Superpole race was slightly less dramatic but also very determined, and he ended up in a final sixth place, taking championship points and earning a second-row starting position for Race 2. Lowes had to start Race 2 from the fourth row, in 10th place, as the Top 9 grid positions are given to the riders who finish in the top nine positions in the Superpole Race.
In Race 2, Lowes again launched off the startline in strong form, but in yet another contact with a rival, he was again dropped back, although not as dramatically as during the Superpole Race. He recomposed himself and got back down to work, setting a strong pace to go from 11th place to seventh by Lap 9. On Lap 16, Alex would fall while trying to move further up the order, and he was unable to get back into action.
Race 2 proved to be a weekend-best showing for Bassani as he went from sixth on the grid to fifth at the flag, fighting all the way from Lap 1 to Lap 21. His race results at Estoril improved race to race, from seventh to sixth to fifth.
In the points table after the 11th of 12 rounds, Lowes is fourth in the championship, with 237 points, while Bassani is seventh, with 208.
The final round of the 2026 WorldSBK championship will shortly take place at Jerez in Spain, from October 16-18.
“Not the best Sunday for us, but I have felt good on the bike all weekend. We made some small changes for today, and I felt good in the warm-up. This morning, I got hit on the first lap of the Superpole Race, so I was right at the back of the grid. But I came from last position to 11th in 10 laps. I didn’t enjoy the result of the race because you have to be inside the Top 9 to get a good grid position for Race 2. But if you take that out of it, the race itself was good fun because I made some good passes, and my pace was quite strong right to the end. In the final race, I made a good start, and I had a quick reaction to the lights. The bike was working well off the start. In Turn 2, I got hit again and just managed to stay on track, so I lost maybe seven places. I found my rhythm again, and the bike was a little bit different. In some parts, like Sectors 2 and 3, I felt quite good. I finally got a bit of clear track and was setting quite a good pace. I had [Lorenzo] Baldassarri behind, pushing me, and I was trying too hard. I was trying to get as high up as I could. I think it was a case of trying to go faster when I was already fast into Turn 4. There are fine margins now in WorldSBK. I have to take the positive points from today. Sorry to the guys in the team, and well done to Axel, as that was a good Sunday for him. We will try to get back on it next week in Jerez.”
- Alex Lowes
“The Superpole Race was really good because we recovered two positions, so we took a P6 finish. This is never easy in the Superpole Race because everyone wants to make up some positions, but we did a really good race with a fast pace. In Race 2, we started really well, and I did some laps at the front, fighting for P4, but from half-race distance, I started to struggle a lot with the rear, and I started to slide. I lost some meters from the rider in front of me. But I think we did an incredible job this weekend, with P7, P6, and P5 race results, always improving. We worked hard with the team because we are struggling, especially on the straights, so we have to recover everything during braking and turning. We have to maximize everything, and so I want to thank the team for continuing to push. We are using everything we have, and we will continue like this until the end.”
- Axel Bassani
