The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock has gathered at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, and the first day back after the summer break was not short on drama. There were big revelations and silly season discussions on offer ahead of the Acerbis French Round, so catch up on the biggest stories from Thursday’s debriefs…
"IF I HAD TO CHOOSE, IT WOULD BE VERY GOOD TO WIN THE TITLE IN CREMONA”
Championship leader Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) preview a potential match ball, saying: “Last year I wasn’t too bad here, but Toprak was very strong. This year we have a new bike, and I hope to make a step to be faster than last year, as I have in the last races. I think winning the title here would be very difficult, I’d have to take a lot of points away from Iker, so if I had to choose, it would be very good to win the title in Cremona. It doesn’t change my approach; it’s always the same in that I will be trying to win. The good news for my future is that I have decided, so I think we will be able to tell you very soon.”
“BOTH ME AND BMW HAVE DECIDED NOT TO CONTINUE NEXT SEASON”
Speaking about his future, Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) said: “It’s been a good break, quite long, but fortunately we were able to ride in two tests, here in Magny-Cours and at Estoril, so I didn’t forget how to ride the bike. I enjoyed the break, so it was hard to come here, but it’s time to go and finish this season. The test here in the first week of August was really hot, with track temperatures of 66 degrees Celsius. We tried many things, not many new parts, but I hope it won’t be quite as hot. I think this will be a good track for the bike, lots of braking zones; let’s see if this test brings us some speed. We decided, both BMW and I, not to continue in WorldSBK next year. We would both like to continue together in maybe another position or championship, but it’s still too early to know. It was a mutual decision. We both gave our best, and this led us to say we can’t continue together.” Read more on Petrucci’s announcement HERE.
“I HOPE FROM NOW TO THE END OF THE SEASON I CAN FIGHT WITH THE FRONT TWO”
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) is excited for Magny-Cours as he said: “Summer break was long, but really nice. After some strong months, I needed a rest because we went to a lot of races at a high level, so you arrive to the next one a bit stressed. We rested, and now I’m ready to be back and ride this weekend. Like always, we have our goals: to try to ride our maximum and finish the Championship in P3. We need to be smart and see whether we have the potential to fight for the podium or fight for the top five. Now, we have four more weekends until the end of the season, so we need to start thinking a bit about the Championship. I also have some personal goals; it would be nice from now to the end of the season to fight for a pole position, or to be closer in general. I hope from now to the end of the season I can fight with the front two, but on the other hand, we need to be smart and think about the Championship.”
“THERE ARE DIFFERENT OPTIONS ON THE TABLE… WE WILL CLOSE ONE SOON”
Providing an update on his future, and speaking about Magny-Cours, Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) said: “This track has been good to me, and I think it is good for our package. Last year, the Yamaha guys performed very strongly. We will try to be as fast as possible and have a good weekend. These last four rounds, we have a good opportunity to be fighting for the top five, and when you’re up there, anything is possible. It’s true that during the summer break there have been plenty of rumours; sometimes it’s even as though other people know more of what is going on than I do! There are different options on the table that we are talking with, but nothing is closed yet. We will close one soon, but for right now, nothing yet. Next year, we will stay in this paddock.”
“IT’S BEEN AN INCREDIBLE YEAR… WHY NOT CONTINUE THAT RELATIONSHIP?”
Looking ahead to the French Round, Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati): “Both sides are very happy. I joined an incredible family. It’s been an incredible year; I’m happy, and why not continue that relationship? This year, we’re second in the Championship. Talking about points, I’m too far from Nicolo. The goal until the end of the year is to win some races and fight with Nicolo. Maybe next year, many things will change, and we'll have to take it easier to avoid mistakes. I’m a bit tired, I don’t sleep so much now with the baby! My summer was just training; I only took the week after Donington to enjoy the baby with my wife and my family, and then I started to work again.”
“WE BELIEVED IT WAS FAIR TO GIVE EACH OTHER A REALLY GOOD CHANCE TO CONTINUE TOGETHER”
Discussing his new BMW contract, Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) said: “I’m happy with this new agreement. We’ve been working towards staying together. One of the key things is that we believe that there’s a lot of unreached potential in the package. We started with a very limited pre-season, started well at Phillip Island, then we kicked off the European rounds with a triple podium at my home race. The injury from Balaton Park really hurt us at the moment where the Championship had more races, which didn’t help at all to continue the consistency. Given that factor, we believed it was fair to give each other a really good chance to continue together. Physically, everything is back in its place! We had the time to ride our bike in the summer. It was good to not have a complete stop.”
“I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING CLEAR, BUT MY MANAGER IS WORKING…”
Looking ahead to the final four rounds of 2026, Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) said: “I worked a lot on my ankle, which wasn’t perfect after Donington Park, and it now feels a lot better. I have great memories from this track, but I also have had some troubles here. It’s a track I’ve liked a lot since I first came here in 2019. It’s unique because you can find all types of corners here. When you feel good on the bike, you enjoy it a lot. At the moment, we are in a situation similar to the start of the season because we're struggling to find a good feeling on the bike. It’s strange because sometimes we have not bad performances, but then we make changes and make things worse. Let’s see how this round goes, we have some ideas after the break, and let’s see if we can recover the feeling and the confidence. At the moment, I don’t have anything clear on the table, but my manager is working. I feel physically and mentally well, I want to continue, but we need to find something to give me a chance to be competitive. In this difficult moment is when you see the good riders, when you know you can’t make mistakes, it’s extra motivation to be even more focused on fixing the details and returning to the top positions.”
“MAGNY-COURS IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CIRCUITS”
Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) has been declared fit for the weekend, and he said: “I’m okay; my personal trainer and I trained a lot during the break for my shoulder. Magny-Cours is one of my favourite circuits in WorldSBK, due to the hard braking. WorldSSP last year was fantastic, P3 for my first podium in WorldSSP. It’s difficult but my team and I are working for good results. I spoke to Motocorsa, and probably I’ll stay, but now I don’t know.”
“I JUST NEED TO STAY CALM AND LOOK TOWARDS CREMONA”
Talking after he was ruled out of the round, Tarran Mackenzie (MGM Optical Express Racing): “It’s unfortunate I can’t start the weekend; I’ve worked really hard since the crash and post-operation up to this point. As unfortunate as it is, I know I couldn’t have done any more. I felt like I had made good progress, but there maybe were some finer details with the broken tibia that the doctors weren’t happy with. It’s unfortunate to have to sit on the sidelines. Going into the last corner at Donington, the bike stoppied a little bit, and as it landed, it reacted quite viciously. It’s happened before, but it’s always calmed down. I feel that if I had to ride now, I could. I feel fit and strong, but you have to have everything together. I just need to stay calm and look towards Cremona.”
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