Denning: "We’re getting very, very close to signing our second rider"
Pata Maxus Yamaha’s Team Principal, Paul Denning, provided an update on the search for a Rea replacement in 2026
The silly season cogs in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship keep on turning even at this late stage of the season. Pata Maxus Yamaha are yet to announce who will partner Andrea Locatelli in 2026 following the announcement that Jonathan Rea will retire from full-time racing at the end of the 2025 season, with Team Principal Paul Denning speaking about the Tissot Aragon Round and the 2026 line-up during Free Practice 1.
The name of who will replace Rea is currently unknown, with the seat one of a handful of factory riders yet to have a rider for 2026; along with BMW, alongside Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team), and the two Honda HRC seats. Several riders have been linked with the Yamaha R1, and Denning was asked in pit lane during FP1 whether there was an update on the search for a rider to partner Locatelli.
Denning replied: “We’re getting very, very close to signing our second rider, just a few details to sort out, but we should have an announcement this weekend or very shortly afterwards.”
The Team Principal also looked ahead to the weekend and Locatelli’s chances of finishing in the top three of the standings. ‘Loka’ is currently in a three-rider fight for P3, with Petrucci in third, the #55 in fourth and Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) in fifth. Petrucci holds a 24-point advantage over his compatriot to take P3 with three rounds remaining, while Bautista trails Locatelli by just six points.
Discussing the fight for third, Denning said: “Bautista is very much in the fight, only a couple of points off ‘Loka’, so it's a three-way fight for third in the Championship. We haemorrhaged a lot of points in Magny-Cours, unfortunately. ‘Loka’ was super-fast all day on Friday in FP3, never out of the top three. Should have, could have, would have, but it looked like we could have battled for the podium in every single race there. Starting last after the Superpole crash obviously made that impossible. We dropped back a little more from Danilo than we would have liked, though, and this track is really a happy hunting ground for Ducati, so in theory, this is the most challenging of the three remaining circuits we have left. Loka has been riding great all year, and we’ll be giving it everything. In a year that's been frankly completely dominated by Toprak and Bulega, to finish third would be a great achievement.”
Follow all the action from MotorLand Aragon using the WorldSBK VideoPass – now only €9.99!
