Record pole with Pirelli SCX and Race 1 victory on SC0 for Bulega

· On the ups and downs of Portimão, Nicolò Bulega (Ducati) capitalized on starting from pole position to take victory in Race 1 of the WorldSBK Pirelli Portuguese Round, leading from the first to the final lap. Behind him were his teammate Iker Lecuona and local hero, Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (BMW), who claimed his first Superbike podium. All three riders, like the rest of the field, relied on the Pirelli DIABLO Superbike tyre range, opting for the soft SC1 front and soft SC0 rear compounds, which proved to be the most competitive on a particularly demanding track in terms of grip and tyre stress.

· Record-breaking SCX. At the end of a qualifying session decided in the final moments, Bulega secured Superpole with a new lap record of 1’38”495, improving by more than half a second on last year’s record set by Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (1’39”081). The effectiveness of the supersoft SCX was further confirmed by three other riders — Iker Lecuona (Ducati), Yuri Montella (Ducati) and Miguel Oliveira (BMW) — who also lapped faster than the previous record.

· Debise takes Supersport. Race 1 of the WorldSSP class was won by French rider Valentin Debise (ZXMOTO), who started from second on the grid and capitalized on an early mistake by polesitter Can Öncü to take the lead and maintaining it until the end. Joining him on the podium were Spain’s Jaume Masia (Ducati) in second and France’s Lucas Mahias (Yamaha) in third. All riders chose SC1 front and SC0 rear compounds, except Ana Carrasco, who opted for SC1 on both axles.

· Torres wins the first Sportbike race. This Portuguese weekend also marks the debut of the new FIM Sportbike World Championship, replacing the Supersport 300 class from this year, with bikes equipped with Pirelli DIABLO Superbike tyres in SC1 compound on both axles (120/70 front and 180/60 rear). Spain’s Antonio Torres (Kawasaki) won Race 1, ahead of David Salvador (Kawasaki) and Belgian Ferre Fleerackers (Suzuki). The WorldWCR — the FIM Women’s World Championship — was also on track, using the same tyre sizes as the Sportbike class. Maria Herrera claimed victory in Race 1, with an all-Spanish podium completed by Paola Ramos and Beatriz Neila.

New supersoft improves track record
 
“The new rear SCX, known until last year as development specification E0126, proved to be an excellent choice for qualifying, with riders immediately able to lap at a very high pace. Nicolò Bulega’s pole position, improving the previous Portimão circuit record by more than half a second, confirms how our continuous development enables riders to enhance their performance year after year. The fact that three other riders also beat last year’s lap record shows that this improvement benefited the entire field. It will be interesting to see how the SCX performs over the 10-lap Superpole Race distance tomorrow. The Portuguese track is quite demanding in terms of wear, but the competitiveness over Race 1 distance of the SC1 and SC0 solutions is confirmed by a final race time that was five seconds faster than last year. I am also very pleased to see Miguel Oliveira take his first WorldSBK podium, confirming his great talent as a rider, as well as BMW’s excellent decision to rely on him as the replacement for a champion like Toprak Razgatlıoğlu. Congratulations also to Antonio Torres, the first winner in the new Sportbike category, a championship that uses Pirelli Diablo Superbike tyres and aims to invest in young talent”.