The 2026 FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup is set to resume at MotorLand Aragon, in Spain this weekend. Temperatures are expected to soar across the weekend, and after a thrilling two season-opening races at Balaton Park, further close battles are sure to ignite during the second round of the season.
Xarly Mendez of the Dominican Republic leads the standings after the opening round, sitting four points ahead of Brazilian Aymon Bocanegra – with the South American duo taking a win apiece in Hungary.
Alessandro Binder (Switzerland), who took a maiden R3 Cup podium last time out, sits third in the standings ahead of Angelo Mottola of Italy.
The 5.078km layout is the longest on the calendar, and with long straights it’s expected to be ‘slipstream’ city on the 320cc R3 machines. At MotorLand Aragon last year, outgoing champion Alessandro Di Persio took the double win to secure the championship in style.
With Di Persio now in the WorldSPB class as a result of his winning-season, there are two riders remaining on the grid who stood on the Aragon podium last year in Emmanuele Pastore (Italy) and Kakeru Okunuki (Japan) – and these are two riders who will be looking to kickstart their season this weekend after a more challenging opening round. Pastore sits seventh in the championship after a fourth place in race one but only managed two points in Race 2 while Okunuki sits down in 14th after a Race 1 DNF.
American Chris Clark, who missed both races last time out after an incident on the sighting lap of Round 1 will return to action this weekend, and it is expected that Francisco Pires (Portugual), will also return to the grid pending a medical check.
One of the most competitive championships on the WorldSBK roster, the FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup features riders from 11 different nationalities. The weekend gets underway with Free Practice and Superpole on Friday, ahead of the two races which take place at 10:20 on Saturday and 10:10 on Sunday. Both of which can be streamed LIVE on the Yamaha Racing YouTube channel, here.