Supersport front-runner to become Remy Gardner’s teammate in 2026
Current FIM Supersport World Championship leader Stefano Manzi is set to graduate to the premier class of production racing, stepping up to the FIM Superbike World Championship with the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team in 2026.
The talented Italian rider will continue his journey with Yamaha, signing a fresh two-year deal with Yamaha Motor Europe that will see him make his Superbike debut. Manzi is currently in his third Supersport season with the manufacturer and has proven to be a consistent front-runner.
A double runner-up in 2023 and 2024 aboard the venerable R6, Manzi is dominating the 2025 series on the all-new Yamaha R9. A commanding double victory in Hungary last weekend saw him extend his points lead to 59, having already racked up seven wins this season, including a maiden win for the R9 during its debut outing in Australia.
The 26-year-old is already familiar with the WorldSBK-spec R1, having taken part in a test at Misano earlier this year. He showed solid pace and progression throughout the day, leaving a strong impression on the GRT Yamaha squad.
Manzi launched his international career in the Red Bull Rookies Cup, finishing third overall in both 2013 and 2014. He went on to race in Moto3 and Moto2 from 2015 to 2021, where he achieved a best result of fourth in the intermediate class before shifting focus to World Supersport in 2022. After claiming sixth in his debut Supersport campaign, he joined Yamaha the following year and quickly became one of the category’s standout performers.
With his promotion, Yamaha has now finalised its rider line-up for the 2026 WorldSBK season. Manzi will join Australian Remy Gardner, who is set to remain with Filippo Conti’s GYTR GRT Yamaha outfit for a fourth consecutive season.
Stefano Manzi
“I am super happy and proud; this is a step that you dream of when you are riding in the smaller classes – you always want to be in the top class. I am excited to continue with this project with Yamaha because I started with Yamaha in 2023 and every year we have battled hard and achieved some great results with progress each season. This year, we started a new project with the R9 and it has been going so well, so to continue my relationship with Yamaha with another new challenge is really exciting. I enjoyed riding the Superbike earlier this year, and I am really looking forward to getting started but for now, my focus remains on doing the best job for the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team in World Supersport until the end of the season.”
Niccolò Canepa – Road Racing Sporting Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe
“Firstly, I would like to extend our thanks to Dominique Aegerter for his hard work and commitment, not only over the last three seasons in WorldSBK but prior to that too. He won two World Championships with Yamaha in Supersport before stepping up to WorldSBK in 2023. While our journey together in WorldSBK comes to an end, we are, together with his management, exploring the possibility to keep him in the Yamaha family moving forwards.
“Now is the time to promote another potential Supersport World Champion to the Superbike class, and we are pleased to announce that Stefano Manzi will move to WorldSBK with GYTR GRT Yamaha next year, again an example of Yamaha’s step-up philosophy, promoting the young talent already within our ranks. Over his three years in World Supersport with Yamaha, Stefano has made huge progress and we have been impressed by his approach which has ultimately put him in the position he is in now, leading the Supersport World Championship by 59 points. He also impressed us as he made his debut on the R1 at the recent Misano test, so for us he was a natural choice for a WorldSBK ride and hopefully he will be making that step as a World Champion.”
