The latest development for the 2026 grid is that Italian rider Michael Rinaldi will not be continuing in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. The 29-year-old rider lit up the scene in his first years in the Championship; however, he has struggled to find a consistent footing to jump back into the title fight in the previous seasons.

Rinaldi first made the jump to the WorldSBK paddock in 2014, competing in STK600 and finishing 11^th in the standings. A switch from Yamaha to Kawasaki machinery in 2015 saw him leap up the standings to second with four podiums including a win, and he moved to STK1000 in 2016. He took podiums in his maiden season on the Ducati Panigale R machine, before claiming the title in 2017; beating now three-time WorldSBK Champion Toprak Razgatlioglu to the crown by eight points.

In 2018, he got his first taste of WorldSBK action with the Aruba.it Racing – Junior Team, the same squad he won the STK1000 title with, and was immediately a top-ten contender as he finished 14^th in the standings. In 2019, he stayed with Ducati machinery but switched to the Barni Racing Team, finishing 13^th, before his breakout season in 2020 with Team GoEleven. He took three podiums, all at the Teruel Round at MotorLand Aragon, including a shock first win in Race 1. That success earned him a seat with the factory Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team in 2021, and he added to his win tally: three wins, including two at Misano, followed him as he finished fifth overall. In 2022, he was almost always in the top six before couldn’t get on the top step, before a further victory at Aragon in Race 1 in 2023 proved to be his last. He moved to Motocorsa Racing for 2024 but couldn’t hit the high notes he had with previous Independent teams, before starting 2025 in WorldSSP with GMT94 Yamaha before returning to WorldSBK with Yamaha Motoxracing WorldSBK Team for the second half of the year.

Announcing the end of his full-time WorldSBK career, Rinaldi posted on Instagram accompanying a clip of the celebrations after his win at Aragon’s Race 1 back in 2023. Rinaldi said: “Inside me, I knew this would be my last victory in WorldSBK. I wish I could find the words to express what I feel, but it’s hard. My time as a full-time WorldSBK rider has come to an end. Not because I’m ready to stop, but because I’ve learned that sometimes the best thing you can do is not force things in life and let them unfold naturally. The hunger, though, is still there—the fire to win burns just as strongly.
Becoming World Champion remains my purpose, my unfinished story. I’ll keep chasing that dream,
maybe on different tracks,
maybe in different championships. And beyond racing,
I’m working on something new,
beyond motorcycles,
yet driven by the same passion. So, thank you.
It’s been a beautiful ride!
And the road ahead is only just beginning! But this big part of my heart and career ends here…Thank you, from the bottom of my heart”

Look back on some of Rinaldi’s best moments over the years with the WorldSBK VideoPass!