Musical chairs, silly season… call it whatever you want, it’s here in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. Riders are starting to be confirmed for the 2027 season while there are others with contracts in place already, and rumours are starting to swirl as well. So, who’s going where for 2027?
ALREADY CONTRACTED
Aside from the riders above who entered 2026 already with contracts for 2027, announcements have started about next year’s grid. At the Emilia-Romagna Round, the Kawasaki WorldSBK Team announced that Garrett Gerloff would remain with them heading into next season, becoming the first rider to be announced for next year outside those already contracted. Also at Misano, the bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team confirmed that Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani would remain with the team in 2027.
WHO’S NOT CONFIRMED?
Well, the easiest way to phrase this is: everyone else. Some high-profile riders were only announced for 2026, including factory riders like Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) and teammate Iker Lecuona, Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) and his teammate, Jake Dixon, plus Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha). In terms of Independent riders, only Sam Lowes is confirmed. Once one domino falls, expect a few more to follow fairly quickly.
BULEGA’S FUTURE
Bulega’s leading the Championship after finishing as runner-up twice in WorldSBK, and the #11 has been linked with a move to MotoGP for 2027. He’s already signed up as a test rider for Ducati on the new 850cc, Pirelli-shod machines, and ‘Bulegas’ has discussed his future multiple times. While he hasn’t given detailed answers, he said after Aragon that he is in talks, and ahead of Misano that he has news but couldn’t share it. Very few seats have been confirmed in the MotoGP paddock for next season, so it’s just a waiting game to see who’s going where, and the knock-on effect that could have.
Confirmed 2027 grid
- Under contract with Yamaha Motor Europe – Andrea Locatelli, Remy Gardner and Stefano Manzi
- ELF Marc VDS Racing Team – Sam Lowes
- Kawasaki WorldSBK Team – Garrett Gerloff
- Bimota by Kawaski Racing Team – Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani
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