An important victory for Aymon Bocanegra in the first race of the weekend keeps the Brazilian rider’s dreams a possibility, as he crossed the line by just five-tenths of a second ahead of fellow countryman Mario Salles to take a crucial 25 points, leaving himself trailing Japan’s Riichi Takahira by 23 points heading into the final race of the year.
Takahira, who qualified in eighth position, battled within the top 6 for the majority of the ten-lap race, and ultimately took the chequered flag in fourth place, which was enough to extend his title lead over rival Xarly Mendez to four points.
Mendez made a strong start from pole position; however, despite leading five of the ten laps, the rider from the Dominican Republic lost on the final lap, eventually dropping to sixth. Italy’s Emanuele Pastore added to his 2026 podium tally with an impressive third-place finish, while Angelo Mottola rounded out the top five in the penultimate race of the year.
It’s all to play for tomorrow, as the top three riders in the category are separated by just 23 points heading into what promises to be a thrilling battle for the very last race of the 2026 FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup.
The final race of the year will get underway at 13:00 (Local Time UTC +1) and can be watched live on the Yamaha Racing YouTube channel here.
On his win, Bocanegra said: “I’m super happy right now because I’m fighting to win the World Cup and now I’ve won this race, so tomorrow we see if we can win the championship.”