Initially, Yamaha announced that MotoGP test rider Augusto Fernandez would replace Rea as he continues his recovery from the foot injuries, he sustained in Australia with the Spaniard taking part in the test on the 14th and 15th March. However, during the Argentine Grand Prix, Prima Pramac Yamaha rider Miguel Olivera sustained injuries that have ruled him out of the upcoming Grand Prix of the Americas, with Fernandez now replacing the Portuguese star in MotoGP instead at the Circuit of the Americas, which takes place on the same weekend.

That means Yamaha’s WorldSBK effort has been put in the unusual situation of needing to name a new replacement rider at short notice. That has fallen on Australian star O’Halloran, who joined the YART Yamaha EWC team for 2025. O’Halloran is also set to begin a role as a test rider for Yamaha in WorldSBK, although he has yet to ride the WorldSBK-spec bike, and he already has plenty of experience with Yamaha machinery from his time in the British Superbike championship.

The 37-year-old started his BSB career in 2008, with Honda machinery and racked up 15 podiums for the Japanese brand, including victory at Snetterton in 2016. For the 2019 season, the Wollongong, New South Wales, native moved to Yamaha the McAMS Yamaha team and racked up a further 26 victories onboard the Yamaha R1 during his four seasons with the team. He finished as runner-up in the championship standings in 2020 and third in 2021. For the 2024 season, he moved to Kawasaki machinery and took a further win.

However, for 2025, he returned to Yamaha in a different series as he joined the YART outfit for their Endurance World Championship campaign. He replaced the retiring Niccolo Canepa and races alongside Karel Hanika and Marvin Fritz, and, with their testing programme across the winter, has been getting back up to speed on an endurance-spec Yamaha R1 machine while his first taste of the WorldSBK spec bike will come in FP1 at Portimao.

Jason O’Halloran said: “I’m excited to get the opportunity to ride for the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in Portimao while Jonathan continues to recover. I have really enjoyed being back on the R1 in pre-season testing with YART, it’s a bike I’ve always gelled well with, and I had a lot of success with the R1 in BSB, so to try it in full WorldSBK spec is something I’m looking forward to. Of course, heading into a race weekend with no testing is jumping in at the deep end a little bit but I will give it my best for the team and for Yamaha while also remembering that the EWC season starts in just a few weeks! I’d like to thank Yamaha and the team for the opportunity and to wish Jonathan a speedy recovery.”

Canepa who took on the role of Road Racing Sporting Manager at Yamaha Motor Europe following his retirement, added: “We are really happy to welcome Jason to the Pata Maxus Yamaha team in WorldSBK. He is currently our EWC rider and is also our WorldSBK test rider, but he has not had the chance to ride the bike yet! The Portimao weekend will be a good opportunity to get a first touch of the bike together with our competitors to understand the bike’s level so he can contribute to our development work as we continue to look to improve. Of course, we all know Jason’s speed, he is the most victorious rider for Yamaha in BSB and knows the R1 well in BSB spec, which is very similar to WorldSBK spec, and he also knows the Pirelli tyres. He has been extremely fast in the winter tests with the EWC YART bike so I believe he will have a good race weekend. We are very close to the Le Mans test and race so thanks to YART for allowing us to borrow Jason in this very busy period for them.”

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For the third consecutive year, the revenue of the Borgo Panigale motorcycle manufacturer exceeds one billion euros. At the end of 2024, Ducati’s operating result is 91 million euros, corresponding to a profitability of 9.1%.

Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati: “The 2024 results confirm the strength of our brand and the company’s ability to generate the financial resources that allow us to continue to invest and consolidate the excellence, value and exclusivity of our products.”

Borgo Panigale, Bologna (Italy) March 18, 2025 – Ducati ended 2024 with financial results that testify to the solidity of its competitive positioning in the two-wheel sector and the effectiveness of the strategic choices made in recent years, oriented towards the development of a product range that represents the best fusion of beauty, performance and technology.

For the third consecutive year, Ducati recorded revenues of more than one billion euros (2024: 1,003 billion; 2023: 1,065 billion). A result achieved despite the challenges that are characterizing the industry and the current global competitive environment.

The operating result (EBIT) stood at 91 million euros, equal to a profitability of 9.1% (2023: 10.5%). A key figure, which also highlights the company’s ability to focus on generating the financial resources needed to support its strategic plans.

During 2024, 54,495 motorcycles were delivered to Ducatisti all over the world (2023: 58.224). Although showing a decline compared to the previous year, the figure is in line with the philosophy of the Bologna-based company, which aims to preserve the exclusivity and value of its products for its passionate clients.

“2024 ends with a positive balance that, despite a challenging competitive environment, confirms our solidity and a benchmark profitability in the two-wheeler market.” declared Claudio Domenicali, CEO of Ducati. “ We enjoy a solid financial base that allows us to continuously and significantly invest in research and development, innovation and racing competition, while continuing to strengthen the uniqueness and prestige of our product range and ensuring the high standards of quality and service typical of a product of excellence. This, combined with our commitment to making every Ducatista feel part of a great family, makes the brand more beloved than ever today.”

Henning Jens, Ducati CFO, added: ” 2024 was a complicated year due to the particularly challenging market conditions the whole business faced. In this context, we chose to focus on protecting overall profitability, prioritizing long-term sustainability rather than just aiming at increasing sales volumes. This approach, combined with further improvements of our efficiency, is in line with our premium strategy and it allowed us to conclude the year with a profitability that reached 9.1% return on sales and an operating result that shows our ability to generate value and guarantee a solid financial base also under difficult circumstances. “

Looking at 2025, Ducati presented to the public ten new models, further enriching an increasingly complete, sophisticated and technologically advanced product range, designed to offer every Ducatista the most suitable bike to express their passion for two wheels.

These include the new XDiavel V4 and Multistrada V4, equipped with the V4 Granturismo engine, alongside the Panigale V4 and Streetfighter V4, both powered by the latest evolution of the Desmosedici Stradale engine, and the Panigale V2, Streetfighter V2 and Multistrada V2 , equipped with the new V2 engine, the lightest twin-cylinder ever made by Ducati. In addition, the Company makes its entry into the world of Off-Road with the introduction of its first motocross bike, available from June 2025 at selected dealerships.

The post Ducati Revenue Tops One Billion Euros, With 9.1% Profitability appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.

Many of the grid’s Ducati riders enjoyed a very strong start to the season. Phillip Island’s Round 1 saw Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) earn his career-first WorldSBK hat-trick, propelling himself out to an early lead in the Riders’ Championship. Alongside him in the garage, Alvaro Bautista had a strong weekend, finishing P3 in Race 1, and P2 in Race 2, the only hiccup coming in the Tissot Superpole Race, in which he finished in P19 after a Turn 6 crash set him far behind the rest of the grid.

Unfortunately, once again, rain made its presence felt in Portuguese testing, giving déjà vu to the preseason event held here in late January. In essence, the rainfall limited teams to half days each day, a tough break for what has already been a limited preseason. While the rain was present, riders had more dry running time than they saw in the prior preseason event. Here are some of the takeaways for the pair in their own words:

While Bulega earned P2 on both days, he was fortunate that he walked away from the test uninjured as in Turn 11, he crashed off of the track requiring a trip to the medical center, while they gave him the all-clear shortly after, it ate into his already limited time on track. On his experience across the testing days, Bulega said “it was a bit of a difficult test for us because we worked hard to find a good feeling, but it didn’t arrive. This morning [Day 2] I had a big crash on a very fast corner here in Portimao. Fortunately, I am good, but it was more difficult to work because we lost some time as a result, then later the rain made it a difficult and strange test. At the end of the session, the last 15 minutes, we were a bit better; we still have lots of work to do but in the end, we were a lot better.”

Alvaro Bautista elected to only take to the track on Saturday’s Day 2, and despite being uncharacteristically low on the time sheet, the veteran rider does not seem concerned about his odds in the upcoming Portuguese Round. “We were able to do some laps, especially in the morning, we started the day with the same setup that we finished the last round with, in Australia.” said Bautista, “The feeling was good, I felt good on the bike. We made some small changes but nothing big. In the afternoon with the rain, the feeling was a bit worse because I couldn’t feel the tires as easily. In general, in the morning I felt good, the pace wasn’t too bad, but we will have to see what the conditions will be like on the race weekend, we prepared the base setup and we will adapt the package from there.”

More, from a news release by WorldSBK:

On the heels of a difficult season opening weekend in Phillip Island, the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team knew their work was cut out for them. 2024’s defending Champion, Toprak Razgatlioglu looked a step slower than his usual self, and Michael van der Mark struggled to place within the scoring positions, landing a pair of P14’s in Race 2 and the Tissot Superpole Race after a Turn 1 crash ruled him out of Race 1. Fortunately for the German team, at Portimao test event held March 14-15th ahead of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s Pirelli Portuguese Round seemed to bear fruit with a step forward in terms of pace and feeling.

On top of what was already a complicated preseason thanks to poor weather across both testing events first in Jerez then in Portimao; BMW was dealt a tough hand as they needed that time on track more than most in order to fine-tune their newly homologated M 1000 RR. Phillip Island has never been a particularly strong circuit for either rider, as only Toprak has won one race there, and that sole race win was in 2020 during his time with Yamaha. This 2025 season-opening trip Down Under was fraught with issues as both riders seemed to struggle with the new bike.

In Portimao however, BMW look to have turned a new leaf, with both riders not only being fast, but consistently fast. Both riders prior in their careers have enjoyed more success at Portimao than at Phillip Island. Michael van der Mark won the Superpole Race here in 2021. Toprak for his part has won six races here and earned rostrum finishes another 7 times. BMW Team Manager Shaun Muir was pleased to see the progress exhibited by his riders.

“We’re back in Portimao, which has always been a strong reference for us,” said Muir. “Despite some lost track time due to the weather, both riders managed an average of 50 laps per day, so we can’t be too disappointed. Michael had a solid test, working through a list of setup items and making steady progress. On the other side of the garage, Toprak focused on re-establishing his base setting, quickly finding a strong race pace while fine-tuning his setup. His 10-lap race runs have been some of the most consistent we’ve seen with this package. With only three fully productive pre-season test days before Australia, these two days have been an important extension of that work. The team has made clear progress, and we’re seeing growing confidence in both riders. Now, with two weeks until the race, we feel we have a solid base to build on and are in a much stronger position heading into FP1.”

While the new M 1000 RR platform certainly still lacks polish, and there is more to yet improve, the test results after Day 2 in Portimao certainly seems to have put wind in BMW’s sails. While rain again made an appearance in Portimao across both days of testing, both days had at least a portion of the day in which the track was dry, a key for BMW’s mission to return to their 2024 form. While it is of course uncertain the weather which will be present in two weeks’ time for the race weekend, it is certainly a good sign for the German manufacturer’s factory team that their riders are closer to being back on pace for their stated goal of winning both the Riders’ and Manufacturers’ Championship this year. BMW Motorrad Technical Director Chris Gonschor gave his impressions following their positive finish after two days of testing in Portimao.

Gonschor said: “We are happy to be back in Europe, back in Portimao after a successful race last year. It’s a beautiful track, and luckily, we had some sun. It was a bit more complicated again, but we got some dry laps in, and we could prepare the race bikes for the weekend. We are looking forward to the race. Both riders in the top four with consistent lap times was a big step forward. Coming back to Portimao is always great, and this rollercoaster racetrack is very demanding—for the riders, for the engineers—but fascinating for the fans. So, it’s perfect to be here, and it was good to have, like I said, a few hours in dry conditions to prepare the race setup and application.”

More, from a news release by WorldSBK:

The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock welcomed Augusto Fernandez (Pata Maxus Yamaha) to the paddock for his first ever WorldSBK event at the test days in Portimao. Fernandez joined the team after Jonathan Rea suffered a several fractures in his left foot after a crash prior to the Australian Round. He remains without an official timeline, but it was announced shortly after Rea returned to Europe that he would miss the Pirelli Portuguese round, hence the arrival of Fernandez.

Rea’s highside crash in Phillip Islands Turn 2 sent his Yamaha R1 cartwheeling down onto his left foot, culminating in the Spanish 2022 Moto2 champion being called in to replace the six-time champion Rea. Fernandez has since been a test driver in MotoGP as well as a grid rider for Red Bull GasGas Tech3 from 2023-2024, his best result coming in his rookie year when he took home a 4th place finish from Le Mans. Only becoming a WorldSBK rider a matter of weeks ago, Fernandez has had his work cut out for him in adapting to the different style of bike, however in testing so far, Fernandez hasn’t been far off pace, so far landing a pair of P13 finishes after the two days of testing in Portimao.

On the differences between the bikes and the things he’s needed to adapt to, Fernandez said “The tires are a big thing, they’re completely different to what I’m used to. Then of course, the bike is different…A lot of things, but I’m getting used to it, I’m happy with the team, I want to thank them for the job they’ve done, it hasn’t been an easy two days but we’ve managed to learn a lot from these days and we’re still not 100% ready for the race, but we will get there.”

The test in Portimao ahead of Round 2’s action was highly anticipated by not only Fernandez who is still acclimating to WorldSBK, but by a grid of teams who didn’t have adequate time to prepare for the season thanks to inclement weather mitigating testing potential in the preseason. Now that these two days are in the books, unfortunately the rain has played a considerable role in the events on-track for Fernandez and the rest of the grid. Rain aside, 27-year-old Fernandez is taking the bull by the horns and accepting the challenge.

“We didn’t have the best of weather, so not a lot of track time, but in the end luckily, we had the last hour. It was an important one because we had some things on our mind that we wanted to try out and to forward the learning process.” said Fernandez “I’m happy how everything went, we managed to improve the lap time at the very end, so I’m happy about that. Now to just continue getting to know the team and trying to get ourselves ready for the race weekend.”

More, from another release by WorldSBK:

Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) looks to have taken a step in his riding atop his KB998 Rimini in his performance on Day 2 of testing at Portimao’s Autodromo Internacional do Algarve

Day 2 saw him take a step forward, trading his Day 1 P7 for a Day 2 P3. The conditions in the test looked to finally be dry, allowing the grid for the grid get some dry running time after a rainy pair of days in Portimao in late January. This was the case for the first half of the day, however just before lunch, the weather turned. Sporadic rainfall sent riders to the garage for most of the afternoon apart from the last half hour when the track was finally dry enough for riders to push.

A start to not only the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbikes World Championship season, but to the latest chapter in Bimota’s WorldSBK racing history took place last round, in Australia. Atop their new bike, Alex Lowes and his teammate Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) rang in the manufacturer’s return well, with Lowes earning a Pair of 8th place finishes in Races 1 and 2, as well as a P7 in the Tissot Superpole Race. Since then, Lowes was consistent on his Day 1 P7, and in Day 2, he looked to be even more comfortable, taking a step forward and landed in P3 late in the afternoon session.

On his feeling with the bike, Lowes said, “Today I felt good on the bike, honestly these two days have probably been the best I’ve felt so far on the Bimota, which is positive and normal as we’re learning and improving it all the time. It’s a little bit of a shame about the weather as we’re still testing items rather than focusing on track-specific settings. I wanted to do a long run and we had quite a few things on the schedule but you can’t change the weather, so I enjoyed it, the guys did a fantastic job and we’re slowly improving.”

The poor weather today and throughout much of the preseason’s testing threw a wrench in the plans of many teams, however it is hard to imagine a team was more affected by the lack of time on track than Bimota who were unveiling their completely new KB998. Despite that, Lowes and Bassani have been competitive all through preseason and Australia. While the pair of star riders certainly hold a share of the credit for this, Lowes and his team are interested in developing their package as far as they can take it.

“Today on the agenda, a lot of the focus was on the front of the bike. Geometry settings we hadn’t been able to explore, different stiffnesses on the front, some positive, some negative. I think we only managed 35-40 laps, [45 laps] so that was all we managed to get through. The main takeaway for the test was an improved feeling on the front of the bike, that was my target after Philip Island where I didn’t feel like I could pass the other riders, so that was a positive. The negative is I still need to improve the rear grip, especially on the fresh tires, I feel like from lap 10 onwards we’re really strong but we’re missing that initial lap time. In general, it’s been a positive test, I feel good going into the second round in Portimao, I hope to make a step forward on the results from Phillip Island. Nothing crazy, but we can improve on our results and work really hard, hopefully battling close to the top six. Who knows if we can achieve more than that but first we need to analyze the results from this test and put it all together.”

The post World Superbike: More From The Portimao Test appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.

Drier conditions than in Day 1 helped riders push harder early in the day in Day 2, by 9:40 local time (+0:00 UTC), four riders had already broken into the 1’41s mark; whereas at this time in Day 1, riders had not even taken to the track yet, and by the end of the day, only 12 riders hit that mark. While the grid had more dry time than in Day 1, rain would return to fall on the WorldSBK parade in Portimao. After the lunch break, intermittent showers would continue and leave the track wet, only drying off in the last half hour of the session.

After a dominant performance by the grid’s Panigale V4R riders, Portimao’s two days of testing still featured Ducati machinery in numbers up around the top 10, but not the all-Ducati top five in the Tissot Superpole and all-Ducati top six Race 2 seen in Australia. Ducati riders nonetheless performed in the top half of the timesheet, led by Nicolo Bulega in P2 with his best lap time of 1’40.017s. After a stunning hat-trick in Australia and a P2 yesterday, he suffered a crash in Turn 11 of the circuit at around 10:00 today; he was fortunately cleared by the medical team and returned to the track atop a different bike, atop which he logged his P2 time. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) made an appearance after not participating in Day 1’s rainy test day, earning a P9 with his fastest lap being a 1’40.717 just slower than his 2024 fastest lap here of 1’40.612s. Following up his strong P5 performance in Day 1, Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) had another strong day which via his 1’40.651s lap, he placed P6. His Barni Spark teammate, Yari Montella continues to look increasingly comfortable on his bike, placing P11on 56 laps. After a personal best in Australia and a similarly fast Day 1 of testing, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) with a time of 1’40.928s again cracked the top ten for the second time in the pair of testing days. Andrea Iannone was uncharacteristically off-pace in Day 2 as he brought up the rear of the Ducati cadre in P14 on a 1’41.514s lap.

Toprak Razgatlioglu enjoyed a return to the top of the podium in Portimao’s Test Day 1. Phillip Island is a track that tends to give him more trouble than others, and after Race 2, ‘El Turco’ was clearly frustrated. He seems to be progressing well as between the change in scenery and changes to the bike, he set the top time of the day at 1’39.592s, beating the circuit’s all-time WorldSBK record, set by the ‘Professor of Portimao’ himself, Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha). Impressively, it is not the first time he has hit this lofty benchmark, as I last season’s preseason testing, he accomplished the same feat. Michael van der Mark looked to be worlds more comfortable as well, he sat in P2 as the riders entered their rain-induced early lunch break at 12:00 local time and finished the day in P4 only thanks to late runs from Bulega and Alex Lowes.

After an impressive P4 finish yesterday, Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) was not quite as fast in Day 2. While he did say that the bike might struggle to replicate Day 1’s results in warmer weather, P12 in Day 2 on the back of a 1’41.264s lap leaves the work for him and his Honda HRC team cut out for them. In that pursuit, Tetsuta Nagashima put down a combined 63 laps and finished P17 from a 1’42.644s lap. One place ahead of Nagashima, Tarran Mackenzie was the fastest rider for PETRONAS MIE Honda, a 1’42.623s lap earned him a P16. Honda HRC Test rider Tommy Bridwell was slightly slower than Nagashima, just 0.126s slower after 25 laps. Zaqhwan Zaidi (Petronas MIE Honda Racing team) ran his fastest lap of the day as a 1’45.816s on 32 laps.

In Day 2, Yamaha stayed on the gas; Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) shined in Day 1 in Portimao’s testing, landing a P3 finish on Day 1. The result came after a still strong, but uncharacteristically slow weekend in Australia; while a pair of P7’s in Races 1 and 2 were his worst result at Phillip Island in his WorldSBK career, it is if anything, a testament to the affinity ‘Loka’ has for Phillip Island. #55 in Day 2 finished P7, with his fastest lap of 1’40.702s . Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) showed even steeper signs of improvement, from a trio of P11’s in Australia to P6 in Day 1 in Portimao, and only 0.189s away from Nicolo Bulega in P2. Day 2 saw him up around the podium again for most of the day, finishing in P4 off of a fastest lap of 1’40.544s. The WorldSBK grid’s newest rider, Augusto Fernandez continues to get up to speed on his Yamaha R1, landing a fastest lap of 1’41.362s, landing him P13.

After a strong showing from both Bimota riders on Day 1 in which again the Lowes-Bassani pair finished one immediately after the other in P7 and P8, Day 2 featured Alex Lowes shining with a blistering 1’40.359s lap earning him P3; this time out in the track being the first time this season we’ve seen an appreciable gap between the two riders in time after they have been practically inseparable on the time sheet. Axel Bassani continued his work atop the bike earning another strong result with a 1’41.049s P9.

Yamaha riders continued their strong form in Portimao on Day 2. In Day 1 Can Oncu (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Team) topped the timesheet and the Turk does it again in Day 2 via his 1’43.623s lap. Behind him, fellow Yamaha R9 rider Lucas Mahias (GMT94- Yamaha) was tailing Oncu, clocking in at 1’44.301s despite running only 22 laps.in P3 for WorldSSP, representing the third different Yamaha team, Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) ran 54 laps, and his fastest among them was a 1’44.655s. In P4, Michael Rinaldi (GMT94-Yamaha) clocked in at 1’44.865, only 0.210s behind Manzi.

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’39.592s 47 laps

2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’40.017s 38 laps

3. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 1’40.359s 45 laps

4. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’40.436s 46 laps

5. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) 1’40.544s 33 laps

6. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 1’40.651s 35 laps

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Rain played a central role at testing in Portimao for the second time this year, delaying the start of on track action in Day 1 at Portimao. Substantial rainfall overnight left the track very wet throughout the morning, preventing the first MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship riders from taking to the track until an hour after the scheduled start. As the track dried however, teams were able to take advantage of the day, with seven riders finishing within a second of the fastest time.

Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and his team seem to be working out the problems from their M 1000 RR, ‘El Turco’ was fastest by a margin of more than half a second on the day. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing -Ducati) started slightly later than most of the grid but in another strong day at the office, matching Toprak’s top speed of the day of 305.9 km/h. With less than a tenth of a second separating them, Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) impressed in their return to Portimao after testing here in late January.

After a disappointing Australian Round opener, Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and his crew look to be making progress with their new M1000 RR. In his fifth lap of the day, ‘El Turco’ laid down a fastest lap of 1’42.428s, wrestling P1 from Remy Gardner. He would go on to shave off more and more time as the day continued and the track continued to dry off, improving his time to 1’40.543s, the only rider to crack the 1’40s mark. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) looked to be still finding his footing with the new chassis of the M 1000 RR, the Dutchman finished in P11, with a time of 1’42.002s.

While Portimao’s Day 1 of Testing brought more manufacturer diversity than what was seen in Australia, Panigale V4R’s remained plentiful in the top 10. Bulega was again fastest among the Italian manufacturer’s riders with his 1’41.168s lap, and his teammate Alvaro Bautista did not participate in the day’s testing, however according to official channels, he will appear in Day 2. Danilo Petrucci was up around the podium the entire day, finishing in P5 and a time of 1’41.281s. Sam Lowes kept the ball rolling after his career-best performance at Phillip Island, this time landing a P9, 0.257s behind P8 with his time of 1’41.929s. Andrea Iannone finished in P12 after a late start to the day, finishing with a time of 1’42.074s. Yari Montella closed out the top 10 with his time of 1’41.987.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was resurgent after an uncharacteristically quiet Australian Round. Locatelli’s fastest lap clocked in at 1’41.202s, just 0.034s slower than Nicolo Bulega in P2. Joining him in the top six, Remy Gardner bounced back in a big way from a disappointing home round in Australia, finishing P6 on the day and only 0.076s slower than Danilo Petrucci in P5. Gardner’s time of 1’41.357s made him one of 12 riders to break into the 1’41s mark. In P13, newcomer Augusto Fernandez logged a fastest lap of 1’42.373s. Fernandez suffered a fall in Turn 15 nearing the end of the session however he walked away uninjured from the incident and continued riding shortly after. Dominique Aegerter clocked in a fastest lap of 1’42.531s, earning him P14.

Only two places separated the two Bimota riders after Day 1 of testing in Portimao. Alex Lowes led the pair in P7, his fastest lap of 1’41.372s was just over two tenths of a second faster than his partner, Axel Bassani. For his part, Bassani landed just behind Lowes in P8 with a time of 1’41.672s, only 0.177s separating the two riders.

Vierge (Honda HRC) replicated the form he was displaying this preseason with an impressive P3 on the back of his 1’41.260s fastest lap. Next up for Honda HRC was test rider Borja Gomez, the fellow Spaniard logging a P15 result on a time of 1’42.722s. Just behind him in P16, Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) started later than others, at 13:20 and went on to land a time of 1’43.080s. Next up was Tetsuta Nagashima, (Honda HRC) who registered 70 laps, fastest among them being 1’43.220s. Zaqhwan Zaidi (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) continued to work on acclimating himself to the bike, logging a personal fastest lap on the day of 1’47.792s

Can Oncu and Aldi Mahendra (Yamaha BLU CRU Evan Bros Racing) had a stellar Day 1 at Portimao, P1 and P2 among WorldSSP riders. Oncu’s fastest lap was 1’44.423s, and 0.211s behind him was his teammate Aldi Mahendra, with a time of 1’44.634s. Yamaha’s R9 continues to distinguish itself, as P3 and P4 were also riders of the new Yamaha bike. Lucas Mahias (GMT94 – YAMAHA) was P3 in WorldSSP with his time of 1’45.215s. Following him, Stefano Manzi (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) finished P4 among WorldSSP riders with a 1’45.681s.

The top six in WorldSBK from Day 1 of the test at Portimao:

1. Toprak Razgatlioglu (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) 1’40.543, 41 laps

2. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 1’41.168, 50 laps

3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 1’41.202, 50 laps

4. Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) 1’41.260, 61 laps

5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 1’41.281, 41 laps

6. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT YAMAHA WorldSBK Team) 1’41.357, 57 laps

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Michael Gilbert is set to return to the FIM Endurance World Championship for the prestigious 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans, where he will once again partner with the Maco Racing Team—this time aboard a Yamaha YZF-R1 superbike in the premier EWC category.

Gilbert, who competed for the Maco Racing Team alongside fellow Americans Andrew Lee and Jason Pridmore at the 2024 8 Hours of Spa in the Superstock class, is eager to continue developing his endurance racing experience in one of the most demanding challenges in motorsport. Following a strong and exciting performance at Spa, the American is thrilled to step up to a Superbike in the premier EWC class and take on the 24 Heures Motos alongside Swedish ex-World Supersport rider Christoffer Bergman.

“Competing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a dream come true,” says Gilbert. “There’s no doubt this will be the toughest race I’ve faced so far. That said, I’m happy to be partnered with a long-standing team like Maco and to absorb as much as possible from its decades of
experience in the paddock. I’m also looking forward to teaming up with Chris Bergman, whom I got to know very well at Spa. I like to think that all of the team’s experience will be motivating when it’s time to saddle up for a stint in the middle of the night!”

This event also marks a major milestone for the Maco Racing Team, as it will be the team’s 20th consecutive appearance at the 24 Heures Motos. This achievement is a testament to the team’s commitment and dedication to the FIM Endurance World Championship—something Gilbert can draw from as he faces the challenges of such an intense race.

“It’s great for me to give an American rider the opportunity to experience the Endurance World Championship, especially the 24 Hours of Le Mans. When I think back to the days of Jason Pridmore and Doug Toland, I want to welcome Americans back to the paddock,” says Martin Kuzma, the owner of Maco Racing Team. “After his performance at Spa, I understood that Michael is a serious rider, and I trust him to take on the tricky conditions of Le Mans.”

The 24 Heures Motos at Le Mans begins on April 19th, also marking the beginning of the 2025 FIM Endurance World Championship. Gilbert is looking for support to compete in the entire championship with the Maco Racing Team, including the 8 Hours of Spa and 24 Hours of Bol d’Or.

For sponsorship and support opportunities, please contact michael@michaelgilbertracing.com

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By Michael Gougis

The outcry probably started before the last bike crossed the finish line at Phillip Island this last weekend. Never mind that Phillip Island is always an outlier, an aberration compared to the results over the rest of the Superbike (and Grand Prix, for that matter) World Championship season. Never mind that last year’s Superbike Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu was injured for much of the off-season and is still not entirely 100%. Never mind that rain washed away much of the off-season testing time, that multi-time Champion Jonathan Rea is out with injury, that BMW has lost its “super concessions” chassis. Never mind that many highly talented riders have migrated to Ducati, which will sell a podium-capable Superbike to anyone who can demonstrate they know how to run a World Championship-level race program. Never mind that Ducati has more machines than almost anyone else in the field to gather and share data.

The complaint is one that is all too familiar: The rules favor Ducati. Razgatlioglu even threatened to quit if the series continues to be, as he put it, “a Ducati Cup.”

At first glance, it’s a legit concern. After three races, eight of the nine podium places were taken by Ducati riders. Razagtlioglu’s second place in Race One in Australia made him the only non-Ducati rider in the top five of any of the three races. Ducati had six bikes in Race Two and locked out the top six.

Even with the mitigating factors mentioned above, the series organizers have left their new 2025 regulations open to criticism, even if they have factored in the ability to quickly respond to domination by one manufacturer. Explanations aside, it just looks bad!

The big change this season is the elimination of rev limits. For the past several years, the series has attempted to balance the performance of different machines by putting different rev ceilings on different bikes. Last year, ballast was added to bikes if the rider/bike combination was below a certain mark.

The ballast regulations remain, but the rev limits are gone. Instead, the series has adopted a fuel flow limit of 47 kilograms of fuel per hour. Phillip Island was the first place the new restrictions were in place.

A look at trap speeds tell part of the story. Last season, Xavi Vierge on the Honda CBR 1000 RR-R was by far the quickest down the straight at Phillip Island, clocked at 335.4 kph (208.4 mph). This year, the fastest machine was Danilo Petrucci’s Barni Spark Racing satellite Panigale V4 R, which tripped the radar gun at 332.9 kph (206.8 mph). Not a lot of change. Last year, looking at the overall weekend of the riders who finished in the top 15 in Sunday’s full-length race, the gap between the fastest and slowest machines was 9.1 kph (5.65 mph); this year, the gap was 12.8 kph (7.95 mph). And the abnormally slow top speed of Remy Gardner’s YZF-R1 makes that gap look bigger than it really was. Gardner was not just 6.2 kph slower than last year, but 7.7 kph slower than the only other Yamaha in the top 15, the factory bike ridden by Andrea Locatelli. Lose Gardner’s mark and the next-slowest machine was Sam Lowes’ satellite Ducati, clocked at 324.9 kph, and the gap comes down to 8 kph (4.97 mph).

Obviously, top speeds don’t tell the whole story. But it’s clear that the fuel restrictions aren’t very, well, restrictive. The fastest Ducatis last year tripped the beam at 331.3 kph, so the trade-off between restricted fuel flow and unlimited revs meant a change of 1.6 kph (0.99 mph) on the top end.

Compared to MotoGP, the Superbikes are allowed to burn a bit more fuel per hour. MotoGP bikes are limited to 22 liters of fuel, and their races run about 40 minutes, so they are burning roughly 33 liters per hour. At 47 kg per hour, Superbikes are burning 35.25 liters per hour. So the restrictions are not particularly limiting – yet. The rules allow for reductions of 0.5 kg/hour every other round.

Another new regulation went quietly under the radar over the weekend. The bimota by Kawasaki KB998 has been homologated with moveable wings, although it is not clear whether the team has tried them yet.

At the official Dunlop pre-season MotoAmerica test at The Podium Club this weekend, it was clear that the gap in the spec between the World Superbikes and the machines raced in the U.S. was growing. No one at the Arizona test was in favor of ditching rev limits and instituting fuel flow restrictions in MotoAmerica competition. Cost was cited as the key factor, as well as difficulties in enforcement. With four race-winning or podium-scoring Superbike rides from last season apparently disappearing for 2025, there was little enthusiasm for increasing the cost of competing in the class.

And the idea of moveable aerodynamics also was not one that finds a lot of support in the MotoAmerica paddock. One team principal described it as a gimmick. Another crew chief pointed out that static aero devices like wings have increased costs in unexpected ways–a simple lowside can damage not just the aero, but all of the fairing bits that the wings are attached to.

Maybe it’s OK if World Superbike and MotoAmerica go separate paths. Clearly the economics for each series is different. Maybe it makes a lot of sense for each to adopt regulations that fit their individual needs and to help build healthy, full and competitive grids. If rev limits and restricted aero are what is best for MotoAmerica, it doesn’t make sense to change that system for something that is still, based on Phillip Island, a work in progress.  So far, there’s no sign that MotoAmerica is going to switch to fuel flow restrictions. Here’s hoping it stays that way…

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Nicolo Bulega was metronomic in his efficiency down under in the Australian Round, testing earlier in the week told a story that he would be a strong contender, however no one on the grid could handle the speeds he would bring to the season-opening races. He claimed his career-first hat trick with a Race 2 P1, and speeds like these have to be a concern for the grid’s other riders as they strive to keep up. Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) had a very strong showing in Race 2, fighting his way back from a P11 start position after a poor result in the Tissot Superpole Race after running off track. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) joined the Ducati Factory riders in the rostrum, having started second on the grid, he weathered the storm of other independent riders hot on his tail to land his second podium of the weekend.

Scott Redding (MGM Bonovo Racing) had another day of near-constant action, fighting tooth and nail with a swarm of other riders, however particularly with Danilo Petrucci. The 2024 Top Independent rider and Redding battled throughout the second half of the race after the Pit Intervention, exchanging overtakes. In the end, Petrucci came in in P5 behind Redding, however this battle of the Independent Riders will be one to watch this season. Matching his career best-ever result, Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) continued his strong form with a P6 result after notching his career-best P5 in the Tissot Superpole Race. He nearly doubled up on the career result, as he was only 0.088s behind P5.

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) had another strong appearance at Phillip Island, duplicating his P7 result from Race 1. Less than a second behind, Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) brought up the front of the Bimota pairing in P8, narrowly beating out P9 finisher Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) by a mere 0.022s. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) finished the race only two places behind teammate Alex Lowes, continuing the trend of both Bimotas finishing with similar times.

Xavi Vierge (Honda HRC) continues to score points as the top Honda rider as Iker Lecuona (Honda HRC) heals up from his broken foot. His P11 finish provides much-needed points to his team as replacement rider Tetsuta Nagashima (Honda HRC) finishes P18. Dominique Aegerter (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team finished P12, just 0.035 seconds behind Vierge. The grid’s only Kawasaki rider, Garett Gerloff (Kawasaki Racing Team) finished P13, a finish to improve upon, however a welcome step up from the DNF he scored after a crash with Nagashima ended his Race 1 early. Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad Racing Team) narrowly missed out on P13 by only 0.038s, taking home P14 instead. Having briefly led the race during other riders’ pit time, Ryan Vickers (Motocorsa Racing) was the final point-scoring rider to finish the race in P15. Fellow rookie, Bahattin Sofuoglu (Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) was the next to finish in P16, just shy of two seconds ahead of his teammate, Spanish rider Tito Rabat in P17. Rounding out the riders who finished the race, Tetsuta Nagashima finished in 18th place for team Honda HRC.

Toprak Razgatlioglu was pushing hard to try to get the most out of his new M 1000 RR, at times this weekend he seemed frustrated with his platform’s performance. When he ran wide trying to enter a corner in Lap 12, he made his second trip to the pits in what would be his final moments on the bike of the race as the team decided to retire from there. Tarran Mackenzie (PETRONAS MIE Honda Racing Team) was the first rider to retire after a crash in Turn 6. Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) unfortunately crashed with only four laps to go exiting the Gardner Straight, named after his father Wayne Gardner.

The top six from the WorldSBK Race 2:

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati)

2. Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) +2.603s

3. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) +3.980s

4. Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) +8.043s

5. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) +10.009s

6. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) +10.097s

Championship Standings:

1. Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 62 points

2. Álvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) 36

3. Andrea Iannone (Team Pata Go Eleven) 35

4. Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) 31

5. Scott Redding (MGM BONOVO Racing) 30

6. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) 22

The post World Superbike: More From Race Two At Phillip Island appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.

Alvaro Bautista, Bulega’s teammate, was the runner-up. 

Andrea Iannone finished third on his Team Pata Go Eleven Ducati Panigale V4R. 

Danilo Petrucci crossed the finish line fifth on his Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati Panigale V4R. 

American Garrett Gerloff finished 13th on his Kawasaki WorldSBK Team ZX-10RR.  

For the championship, Bautista is 26 points behind his teammate Bulega who has 62 points. Iannone is third with 35 points.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

AUSTRALIAN MASTERCLASS: Bulega takes first WorldSBK hat-trick, Bautista fights back to P2 as Razgatlioglu retires. 

The post WorldSBK: Race Two Results From Phillip Island appeared first on Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle Riding, Racing & Tech News.

Nicolò Bulega won the World Superbike Superpole Race Sunday morning at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, in Australia. Riding his Aruba.It Racing – Ducati Panigale V4R on spec Pirelli tires, the Italian racer won the 10-lap race by 2.324 seconds.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

A chaotic Superpole Race at Phillip Island features Bulega again P1 and low finishes from Razgatlioglu and Bautista. 

BOTH BIMOTAS IN POINTS: Yari Montella scores his first-ever WorldSBK Points

The returning Bimota project saw their riders once again finish within close proximity, Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani both finished within the points in P7 and P9 respectively. Between them, Rookie Yari Montella showed his caliber as a rider and claimed his first-ever points in WorldSBK, a feather in the cap of the young Italian as he will look forward to building on this momentum.

GERLOFF’S RACE ENDED: Crash ends his day early

Garrett Gerloff fell victim to a hectic Lap 2 Turn 6, a congested corner entry for the grid saw Gerloff wipe out and his bike slid off the track, mechanically inhibiting his bike and the Texan rider from continuing. In the same encounter, Honda HRC rider Tetsuta Nagashima crashed as well. He finished the lap, came to the pits early and called it a day in his second lap. Xavi Vierge crossed the finish line in P9, however after a penalty for irresponsible riding was applied, he was knocked down to P13.

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