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The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship and the entire motorcycle racing community extend their deepest condolences to the friends, family and colleagues of Genesio Bevilacqua, who passed away on Tuesday, January 13th.

Genesio was a prominent figure in the WorldSBK paddock with his Althea Racing Team. In 2011, he won the Superbike World Championship with Carlos Checa on the Ducati 1098R, after the Spaniard had dominated the race that year, winning 15 of the 26 races and achieving 21 podium finishes.

His career in the paddock began four years before this success in WorldSSP, where the Althea Racing Team last competed. Initially racing as Althea Honda, Katsuaki Fujiwara finished fourth in the overall standings in the team's first year. While Genesio's team was strong in WorldSSP, its best in WorldSBK was yet to come.

Their first World Superbike season was in 2008 with Roberto Rolfo and Giovanni Bussei, before Matthieu Lagrive, Flavio Gentile, and Tommy Hill joined the Althea team in 2009. In 2010, Checa and Shane Byrne joined the team, and under Genesio's leadership, they reached new heights. Checa secured eight podium finishes and finished third in the overall standings behind Max Biaggi and Leon Haslam, before the 2011 season brought unprecedented success when Checa was crowned champion.

Checa and Davide Giugliano raced for the team in 2012, although the Spaniard was unable to defend his title. Giugliano, however, finished in the top ten in his first full WorldSBK season, having won the STK1000 title with Althea Racing in 2011. He finished the 2013 season in sixth place overall.

In 2016, the team switched from Ducati to BMW machines, with Markus Reiterberger and Jordi Torres riding for the team, which finished fourth in the team championship before moving up to fifth the following year. Also in 2016, Raffaele De Rosa secured the STK1000 title for Althea Racing and made his WorldSBK debut with the team. Another manufacturer change occurred in 2019 when the team partnered with Midori Moriwaki's team, but this resulted in limited success.

The Althea name disappeared from the starting grid for a few years, but returned to WorldSSP – the championship where it all began – in 2022 with Federico Caricasulo winning for the team at Mandalika on the Ducati Panigale V2. 

Away from the racetrack, Genesio owned a private collection of restored and well-preserved motorcycles called Moto dei Miti, which offered an overview of several decades of development and competition.

In a statement, the team said: “It is with deep sadness that the Althea Racing Team announces the passing of Genesio Bevilacqua, who died on January 13, 2026. As a person and a professional of immense value, he left a profound and lasting mark on the team's history and in the hearts of all those who had the privilege of knowing and working with him. His example and his memory will live on. During this time of mourning, we join his family in respectful solidarity and offer them our deepest and most sincere condolences.  Goodbye Genesio, our legend who never claimed to be one. ”