Circuito Estoril will host the 11th round of the current 12-round WorldSBK championship season, with the 4.182km long track near Lisbon becoming something of a regular host venue in the recent past. Since it came back on the calendar in 2020 (after sporadic WorldSBK use in the past), Estoril has only been absent from the roster during the 2023 season.

After a home round for bimota and Axel Bassani last time out, at an almost brand-new Italian circuit in Cremona, Estoril provides a more established layout, which was first used for racing in 1972. Some more modern sections have been introduced over the following decades, including a remodelled T1.

Entering what will be the second Portuguese round of the season, Lowes sits in fourth place in the overall championship. Bassani is seventh in the current rankings, just nine points from the rider ahead. Each BbKRT rider has scored podium finishes this year, and secured numerous top five results - even after the Bimota KB998 Rimini machine had been given two maximum fuel flow balancing reductions over the season.

Friday 9 October will feature two WorldSBK Free Practice sessions, then Saturday will host FP3, Superpole Qualifying, and a 21-lap Race One. Sunday 11 October starts with a warm-up session and then a ten-lap Superpole Race in the morning. WorldSBK racing in Portugal concludes with a 23-lap Race Two, scheduled for 15.30 local time.

Only the WorldSBK and WorldSSP classes will be present at Estoril, before the entire season reaches its finale just one weekend later, at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto, between 16-18 October. All four main championships operating inside the WorldSBK paddock will conclude at that Spanish round.

Alex Lowes, stated: “Estoril is an interesting track. It is a little bit old-school and features some really fun corners. I like Sector Three because it's tricky and technical. The long final right-hand corner is a lot of fun and also important during the races. Like always, I will work hard on Friday with the guys in the team to be as strong as possible on Saturday and Sunday. I can't wait to get started.”

Axel Bassani, stated: “Now we go to Estoril, the penultimate round of the championship before the last one in Jerez. There is a long main straight that is normally not good for us, especially when we are in the top few gears. But we will try to recover time in the corners, like we did in the last few races. We will try to enjoy the last few races of the year and do our maximum to finish inside the top six of the championship, by being consistent and taking the most points possible. This is our goal, so we are really focused on that. We want to finish this year in a good way.”