Pirelli Portuguese Round Free Practice

Date
Fri 27th March 2026 (UTC)
Fri 27th March 2026 (Local)

Timestamp
2026-03-27T10:20:00

Time

10:20:00 UTC (11:20:00 Local)

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League
WorldSSP

Season
2026

Round
2

Status
Match Finished

Location
Algarve International Circuit

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Description

The World Supersport paddock arrives at the demanding Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, famously known as the "Rollercoaster" for its dramatic elevation changes and blind crests. The primary challenge for the field in this 40-minute session is finding a mechanical balance that prevents the bike from wheelieing over the crests while maintaining enough stability for the heavy braking zone into Turn 1. The objective for the riders is to gather data on tire longevity, as the abrasive Portuguese surface typically rewards those who can manage their rear grip throughout a full race distance.

Strategically, the Friday morning session is the only dedicated practice time before the afternoon's Superpole qualifying. The goal for championship leader Albert Arenas and the AS BLU CRU Yamaha team is to verify their base setup on a track that traditionally favors high corner speed. The tactical focus for the Evan Bros ZXMOTO squad is to refine the electronics on the new three-cylinder machine, which showed immense promise in the season opener. Meanwhile, riders like Can Öncü and Jaume Masia look to establish a fast rhythm early to secure a "psychological" advantage before the high-pressure qualifying session later in the day.

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Result List

Result Description

Can Öncü returned to the top of the timesheets on Friday, March 27, 2026, delivering a dominant performance in the weekend's only practice session. Öncü’s objective was to establish a benchmark early, and he succeeded by clocking a 1:42.670 lap. His pace on the Ten Kate Yamaha was consistently strong, placing him over half a second clear of the chasing pack and signaling his intent to challenge for his first win of the 2026 campaign.

The session highlighted the competitive diversity of the 2026 field, with the new ZXMOTO factory project continuing to impress. Valentin Debise secured second place, finishing 0.633 seconds behind Öncü, while Lucas Mahias and Albert Arenas ensured three Yamahas finished inside the top four. Philipp Oettl rounded out the top five on the Feel Racing Ducati, maintaining a gap of less than a second to the leader. The session saw several technical setbacks, notably for Jorge Alcoba, who stopped at Turn 3 early in the session, but the front-runners largely avoided incident as they focused on mastering the technical final sector of the Portimão circuit.

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