Difficult start on European soil for MGM Optical Express Racing
Tarran Mackenzie only managed to score two World Championship points this weekend at the Portimao rollercoaster.
The second round of the FIM Superbike World Championship 2026 took the WBSK paddock to European soil this weekend after the opening round in Australia. At the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, MGM Optical Express Racing experienced a rather mixed weekend. This came after the strong first event at Phillip Island, where Tarran Mackenzie finished the second race in an impressive fourth place.
In sunny spring weather at the famous Algarve coastline, the Scotish rider started Free Practice Sessions with consistent improvements.
Mackenzie was able to lower his lap time by 1.379 seconds from FP1 to FP3, improving from 15th to 10th place. Despite promising signs and another significant steps forward, he only managed 15th place in Superpole.
From there, Mackenzie initially dropped back to 19th after the start of the first main race. However, he then gradually worked his way forward, reaching the top 15 by the halfway point. He ultimately finished 14th after 20 laps, securing two World Championship points. In Sunday’s Superpole Race, the MGM Optical Express Racing rider improved his position by one place to 13th.
However, his starting position for race two remained the same, meaning Mackenzie once again started from the fifth row. He engaged in a battle with veteran Jonathan Rea in the opening laps but had fallen back to 18th. Crashes and a successful overtake on Rea saw Mackenzie climb back to 14th by lap five, putting him on course for points. Unfortunately, he crashed three laps later in turn 13 and had to end his race weekend early – thankfully uninjured.
After the first race weekend back in Europe, the World Superbike circus will head to the Netherlands in less than three weeks’ time (April 17-19). This is for round three at the legendary TT Circuit in Assen.
#95 Tarran MACKENZIE (MGM Optical Express Racing, Ducati Panigale V4R)
Grid position 15 / Race 1: P14 / Grid position 15 / Superpole Race: P13 / Grid position 15 / Race 2: NC
«I was happy that we improved the bike but I’m still just struggling to find the extra couple of tenths that would make the difference in positions and the group that I ride with. I think some comes from my riding still as well, so I think more time on the bike and another weekend under our belts, it can go a long way, so I’m disappointed with the end result because my starts were just destroying my race weekend. Riding around with people I don’t think I should have been riding with and losing out to the kind of group in front due to bad starts. Anyway, it is what it is. I’ll just try and reset, go away, keep working hard. I’m excited for Assen. It’s a track that I enjoy a lot. One of my favourite circuits, so excited to get there, start to work again and trying to improve, make that next step and make some solid results. See you there.»
Michael GALINSKI (MGM Optical Express Racing, Team principal)
«That was a rather difficult weekend. We absolutely have to find more rear grip for our relatively light rider. He had an extreme amount of wheelspin. We can also work a bit on the racing line, not leaning the bike over quite so much and keeping it straighter. But that’s all easier said than done. Overall, it’s important to be further up the grid in Superpole, because only then do you have a chance of competing with the next group ahead. We had a rather mixed performance overall. In the last race, I thought it was a bit unnecessary that Rea half-ran into him three times per lap. If you’re fighting for the top three, that’s good, but not necessarily for 15th place. The fact is, we weren’t fast enough. We’re looking ahead now. Assen suits Taz. We’ll do our homework and see you there.»