It’s been almost a month since the Phillip Island round that opened the 2025 Superbike World Championship and now, on 28-30 March, the Kawasaki WorldSBK and WorldSSP Teams will be hard at work at the Autodromo do Algarve in Portimao, Portugal for the season’s second round.
As predicted, the Australian races highlighted the strengths of the team’s bikes but there are also aspects on which the technicians and riders still need to work. The first points scored by Garrett Gerloff in Superbike and Alcoba’s very strong fifth-place finish in Supersport serve as a base heading into the Portuguese weekend, at a track that would appear to suit the 2025 ZX-10RR and the new ZX-6R with 636 cc engine.
The Autodromo Internacional do Algarve is located in southern Portugal, close to the town of Portimao. It was homologated and inaugurated in 2008, when WorldSBK became its first event. The facility extends across roughly 300 hectares, in the hills surrounding the Portuguese town and includes a karting track, a technology park, a five-star hotel, a sports complex and apartments. The track is famous for its undulating layout and its fast, flowing turns. Measuring 4.592 km in length, it comprises fifteen turns, nine of which right-handers and six left.
The full schedule for the Portuguese weekend is available at the following link:
Manuel Puccetti – Team Principal
“We’re really motivated and can’t wait to get back on track with both the Superbike and Supersport. We worked hard during the tests over the winter, harder than ever before, so as to be ready for the start of the season, but after the first round at Phillip Island we needed time to recheck the data collected and see where we are. This helped us to better understand Gerloff and Alcoba’s needs and to work to satisfy their requests. I think the Portuguese track can be a good one for our bikes and so I’m confident our riders will be able to achieve strong results.”
Garrett Gerloff
“The long break is finally over and I’m happy to get back on my Ninja. After the winter tests and the first round at Phillip Island we needed to analyse all the data to understand which direction to take in order to make our bike more competitive. At Portimao we’ll try to find a good base on which to build, before looking for the best set-up around this amazing, winding track. I’ve not stopped training and feel ready for this second round.”
Jeremy Alcoba
“I’m really excited to get back to riding my ZX-6R and am pleased to do it at Portimao, a fun track that I really like. This month, the weather hasn’t been great and so I haven’t been able to train on the bike, but I have worked hard on my physical training anyway. The first Phillip Island round was positive and highlighted our bike’s strong potential. I think we can continue with the development and do well in Portugal.”
