Wednesday 28 January offered up a short period of dry ambient conditions at the 4.592km-long Portimao circuit, but on a still-damp track Gerloff was the first of the WorldSBK riders to use slick tyres. He ended the first day with the best lap time as a result, setting a 1’46.262.

On day two at Portimao, Thursday 29 January, track conditions started out wet and would remain that way all day. Gerloff did not ride on day two, ending the test early - as did many of the WorldSBK and WorldSSP teams who were taking part in the final European-based pre-season tests.

The 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship season begins at Phillip Island in Australia, between 20-22 February, after the now traditional official test sessions, which are set to be held between 16-17 February.

Garrett Gerloff stated: “The Portimao test has been tough, and we weren’t able to ride on a fully dry track at all. On the first day, I completed about 20 laps on a damp track. I went out on slicks too, though I had to be very careful not to make any mistakes and risk crashing. But I wanted to do that in order to give the team some data, as they’ve all worked so hard over the winter on the Ninja ZX-10RR. It was important to test the new aerodynamics - this is the ideal track for that, with its long straight. I could see a definite improvement even though I wasn’t really pushing, but the development work will only really start in Australia, during the last two-day test.”