Can Oncu dropped the hammer on Friday in the FIM Supersport World Championship, flying to the top of the timesheets with a stunning circuit-record-setting 1’39.011s lap to secure his fifth pole position of the 2026 season for Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing. As winds picked up over the latter half of the session, the Turkish rider mastered the conditions and will now hunt down a maiden win at the Portuguese venue on Saturday.
Right behind him, Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) put in a resurgent drive to grab P2. The Frenchman clocked a 1’39.057s, sitting just under five hundredths behind Oncu to secure his fifth front-row appearance of the year. Sitting P12 in the Championship, the #94 has his sights set on cracking back into the top ten this weekend. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) rounded out the front row in third place, finishing just shy of a tenth off pole to lead a trio of Triumph machines and secure his first front row finish since his dominant home round at Donington Park.
The second row features Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) locking down P4, continuing his return to form after missing Magny-Cours with injury and a best result of P13 at Cremona. He finished just under half a tenth behind his British teammate. Hot on his tail, Czech rider Ondrej Vostatek (Compos Racing Team) claimed P5 to build on a P7 from the last round, while Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing Yamaha) grabbed P6 for his second-best result of the season.
Further down the order, wildcard rider Eric Fernandez (Cerba Yamaha Racing Team) made a massive splash in his maiden Superpole event by taking an impressive P7. Just four hundredths behind him, Dominique Aegerter (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) took P8 for his best Superpole result of 2026 so far.
Championship leader Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) slotted into the third row with a P9 start. While it dropped him down the grid, it proved to be a strong result for his title hopes as his main rival suffered a major setback. Valentin Debise brought out early drama by finding the gravel at Turn 12, losing the better part of the session while his team scrambled to repair the bike. He managed to return, but the mishap leaves him buried on the sixth row in P17 for Saturday. Meanwhile, Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) struggled even more, tumbling to P20. He faces heavy lifting in Race 1 to protect his 36-point Riders’ Championship lead over Oncu. Rounding out the top ten, Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) finished just two hundredths off the #75 as he fights to secure a 2027 seat.
