A new era will be ushered in at Phillip Island next week, after the long-established power trio experienced a change of factory status, job description, or even a whole racing class
All the way through the latest 22-strong rider WSBK entry list there have been a vast number of shake-ups and several full resets. AMCN’s long-time WSBK reporter, Gordon Ritchie unravels the intricacies of a defining season
Ducati dominance?
We are about to enter what genuinely feels like a new era for the Riders’ Championship battle in WSBK, even if we will have the same Bimota, BMW, Ducati, Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha manufacturers fielding official entries this year as last. Every WSBK championship-winning rider since 2015 is now, in turn, seeing if the MotoGP grass is greener, no longer on a factory bike, or no longer in possession of a full-time contract.
There was one red-hot favourite before the two European tests in January just before the Phillip Island test and season opener. But even the pre-season expectation that Nicolo Bulega and Ducati will reign in 2026 just proves we are now clicking past the long ‘Big Three’ era ruled by Toprak Razgatlioglu, Alvaro Bautista and Jonathan Rea.
Aruba.it Racing – Ducati
Bulega took modern WSBK great Razgatlioglu all the way to the final race decider in 2025, having already proven to be his biggest threat the year before. Now teamed up with HRC Honda refugee Iker Lecuona, and with a new (and seemingly improved) V4-R at his disposal, this could be Bulega’s year. Should be, really. 2026 may also deliver a return to peerless form for Ducati as a manufacturer.
Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Motorbike racing provides too many variables by its very nature. That said, Bulega is the hottest favourite imaginable. And no wonder. In his 72 races, he has scored 20 wins and 56 podiums all in. Only Toprak stopped him from being champion in his rookie and sophomore years.
Lecuona may be Ducati’s not-so-secret weapon in a ‘second rider’ role. He’s obviously quick, but he’s been overriding the tricky Honda for years, and crashing quite often. With a cooler head and a factory Ducati? Why is the sky not Iker’s limit, in his fifth WSBK year overall? He’s started nearly 120 races already.
The new Ducati, with a conventional double-sided swingarm and so many other new tweaks and real changes, looks like the bike to be on again, whether factory or independent in nature.
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WSBK Team
A complete change of rider line-up as Michael van Der Mark has gone from regular season-long racer to in-house test rider. Danilo Petrucci, or ‘Petrux’ to his fans, has finally got his factory ride in WSBK, after being a factory MotoGP rider for Ducati many years ago. He won two races over there, and three in WSBK in 2024. The question is, can he or anybody else still win races on a bike that only Razgat could hit the highest notes on almost every weekend? Petrux has a lot to prove, not least to himself, but is a real character off track and a tough nut on track.
This year’s ex-MotoGP marquee signing for WSBK has won no fewer than five MotoGP races. Given this is way more than most of those who have ever ‘come over’ to WSBK recently, there is no reason why Miguel Oliveira cannot be a true force from round one. He even knows the first four ‘WSBK’ circuits he will compete on, including last season’s new shared venue, Balaton Park.
This BMW line-up is exciting in so many ways, yet unknown in many others. They have been the literal power behind Toprak’s two most recent thrones, still have an agile and dedicated test and development framework pushing along their direct factory effort, and are partnered by the Brits from SMR Racing again.
Only trouble is, was Toprak the real winning difference? The only real advantage? We are about to find out.
Pata Maxus Yamaha
Andrea Locatelli – or ‘Loka’ to one and all – has a strong record in WSBK, and made his eventual breakthrough first-race win at Assen last year. A convincingly dominant WSSP champion in 2020, he is another ex-Moto2 refugee to ‘make it’ inside the production-derived Dorna-now-Liberty Media product. He took ages to win a race, but he was the only one to do so outside of the Razgat/Bulega, BMW/Ducati duopoly of 2025. His potential ‘problem’ is his factory Yamaha, which is not quite as powerful as most other bikes, and is a little long in the tooth overall. Bautista’s long-time crew chief Giulio Nava is now Loka’s pit boss. Could be a match made in a northern Italian heaven?
Loka is now teamed up with another HRC Honda departure, Xavi Vierge. At the time of press he had already shown speed on the R1 in the end-of-season 2025 Jerez outing. An intriguing signing to replace the outgoing Rea (who semi-retired to be a Honda test rider/wildcard runner). Paul Denning’s Crescent Racing group looks after many of the team logistics.
bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team
They like to leave the initial ‘b’ of bimota in lowercase, much to the chagrin of sub-editors. Alex Lowes just loves Phillip Island and this year he may be a top-three force, given it’s the second year of the already podium-capable KB998 Rimini ‘hybrid’. Again running a well-proven but slightly ageing Ninja ZX-10RR engine, cuddled by gorgeous bimota tubes and alloy sections, Lowes eventually took four podiums in 2025 – no mean feat with so many strong Ducatis around.
With a new crew chief to boot, in the form of Rea’s recent crew chief Uri Pallares, this may be the make-or-break season for Axel Bassani as a factory rider, especially after being ‘Indy’ champion twice in the early 2020s. He’s fast but he has to be up front more often.
Honda HRC
Now then… we’re definitely talking new brooms from top to bottom. There are different top people behind the scenes, a new test rider in a certain J Rea, and two riders who are rookies in full-time WSBK. Honda will enter the current Fireblade’s seventh season as a full-works project again. And yet, amazing as it may sound, the Big H is still looking for its first race win. An amazing statistic that one, but we’re glad to say Honda is investing enough resources and changes in its lone WSBK arm (wing?) to prove their serious commitment.
They are, however, possibly making a mistake similar to the one they made after the Bautista/Haslam pairing was rejected both at once. They’ve drafted in two MotoGP/Moto2 rookies once before. Few podiums and no race wins accrued. But, in Jake Dixon, HRC have a serial Moto2 race winner (seven times) and a two-time Moto2 race winner in Somkiat Chantra. Chantra was injured in mid-January at Sepang on his training bike, with injuries to each arm, so he may or may not be fit to ride in Australia.
It’s difficult to find anyone in WSBK, even each of HRC’s rivals, who does not want them to have some real success this year.
Kawasaki WSBK Team
A factory rider again, fast-but-fickle American Garrett Gerloff should have some Ninja ZX-10RR tech improvements to call on, as well as a renewed partnership with his old (and favourite) crew chief, Les Pearson. Podiums may be a dream with so many fast Ducatis and more modern factory bikes around, but Gerloff really needs to be a regular top 10 rider and maybe even more.
He is the lone Kawasaki rider again, in what is still an official manufacturer team.
Barni Spark Racing Team Ducati
With no room left in the Ducati factory stable, the 41-year-old Bautista moves over and slightly down to the always well-connected Barni Spark Racing team. With a new Ducati, he should still be competitive. Three world championships (in single 125cc GP and double WSBK flavours) prove Bautista’s previous true class, but so did a stonking 21 podiums in what was otherwise a relatively tough 2025.
That said, he also didn’t win a single race last year, which might be an important fact to remember if he does not shine as brightly as his team sponsor’s name. With maybe – maybe – only Bulega to beat this year, he could rekindle his once magical WSBK powers and aim for more than podiums. He’s still the third ‘winningest’ WSBK rider there has ever been.
Alongside, Yari Montella is back for year two, with year one punctuated by too many falls and other dramas. A true WSSP title challenger in 2024, 2026 needs to be the year he becomes a proven WSBK entity in his own right.
ELF Marc VDS Racing Team Ducati
Sam Lowes made the kind of podium leaps in 2025 that he hoped he could have made in his rookie year, but the 2013 WSSP champion is looking for his first-ever WSBK win in 2026. No reason he couldn’t do it as, like all the others outside the recent seasons’ Big Three, he only has a privateer version of one of those ‘aliens’ to race against this year. And, of course, the really big challenge – Bulega. Five podiums to Sam’s credit already – just none shared with his twin brother Alex yet.
Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing Ducati)
When British rider Ryan Vickers was kicked out of his contract one season early, this Italian rider was taken on for 2026. He’s a WSSP podium finisher from last season, a Moto2 rider, a Moto3 rider… and still only 21. Hard to see him beat what Vickers would probably have done in year two had he been allowed to stay, but you never really know in racing.
Team GoEleven Ducati
A Rookies Cup champion way back when in 2011, it hasn’t really happened quite as hoped since for Lorenzo Baldassarri. Hence, the tall Italian is back in the WSBK paddock after his MotoE championship just ceased to be. He’s ridden in WSBK, on a slightly outpaced R1 for the Yamaha GMT94 squad in 2023, but he had more success in WSSP (four race wins in 2022) and Moto2 (five race wins from 2016 to 2019). On a new WSBK Ducati, maybe his deepest talents can flourish on a really big bike in 2026?
GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team
Australia’s own 2021 Moto2 world champion Remy Gardner is another rider not quite on the fastest or most consistent of bikes, but he is a semi-factory rider again in 2026. Podiums have been earned, but more is wanted and needed in what will be his fourth WSBK season.
Phillip Island is probably not the greatest place for the Yamaha in 2026, in fairness. Stefano Manzi is as exciting a new talent as any in recent years to get a good Superbike, and comes up from WSSP as a convincing champion in 2025. They say he rides any bike as close to the limits as anyone, so it will be enthralling to see how well he makes the jump to WSBK.
Cainam Racing Team Ducati
Recently parted from his GoEleven Team after some success, and loads of difficult moments, Andrea Iannone is back with his own squad – with Ducati’s test team in tow to start with. ‘Cainam’ is ‘maniac’ spelled backwards, BTW. He’s always going to be podium capable on the right day, but there were too many wrong ones for him to still be in his old team, or a serious option for any other factory effort. He’s been on the WSBK podium in Australia very recently, however…
MGM Racing Performance Ducati
Tarran Mackenzie, a BSB champion and one-time WSSP racer, found his privateer WSBK Honda hard work for no reward. He then suddenly found himself a potent ex-Scott Redding Bonovo Ducati towards the end of 2025. He’s back with the German-operated team for a full tilt at WSBK. He’s surely a better rider than even the best of his WSBK results have shown?
Motoxracing WSBK Team Yamaha
Mattia Rato will be only 21 when he joins WSBK, with a background in national racing, some Moto2 rides, and fully two goes on a wildcard WSSP 600cc R6 last year. He’s won three CIV Supersport races, but a full-on WSBK bike in 2026 should be an eye-opener for him. Bahattin Sofuoglu is a more proven developing talent (a race winner in WSSP300 and WSSP) and enters his sophomore season in WSBK at the Island.
