Mattia Rato and Twan Smits will remain with the Motoxracing WorldSBK Team heading into the 2027 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship campaign. The pair finished the 2026 season together across the final three rounds and will remain as teammates heading into next season after they both inked a contract extension with Sandro Carusi’s squad.
Rato started the year with the team after competing in the Italian Supersport championship last year, finishing in third place with three wins and seven podiums. The Monza-born rider scored points on two occasions throughout 2026, finishing 14th in Race 2 at Balaton Park and picking up a point on home soil at Cremona, again in Race 2, with 15th place.
As for Smits, he joined the team for the final three rounds when he replaced Bahattin Sofuoglu. The Dutchman had spent most of 2026 competing in the German Superbike championship, where he finished fourth overall with four wins and six podiums, but switched to WorldSBK for the final three rounds of the season at Cremona, Estoril and Jerez. His WorldSBK debut, however, came earlier in the year at Assen as a wildcard for Team Apreco, on Yamaha machinery.
Although the riders will remain the same, the team will benefit from more support from Yamaha next season. The Japanese manufacturer will provide the latest spec R1 machines to allow the team to build on the 2026 season and, hopefully, push Rato and Smits into the points-paying positions on a more regular basis.
Speaking of his renewal, Rato said: “I’m very happy to have renewed my contract with Motoxracing and to be able to continue my journey in both WorldSBK and with the team. This is exactly what I was hoping for, as I want to build on the work we started this year and continue developing as a rider. Overall, the season we’ve just completed has been positive. I struggled a little more in some races, while in others I was able to perform well. All in all, I’m quite satisfied with what we’ve achieved, but I’m convinced we can do even better next year. Our goal will be to improve on this season’s results and get closer to the riders ahead of us. I’m highly motivated to keep working hard, continue improving and take another step forward.”
Smits added: “I’m extremely happy and grateful to continue this journey with Yamaha Motoxracing. A huge thank you goes to everyone involved and especially Yamaha who made this opportunity possible. I’m looking forward to continue working together and hopefully make great progress throughout 2027.”
Team Manager Carusi stated: “For 2027, we have chosen to continue building on the work we have developed with Mattia and Twan. Mattia made significant progress in his first WorldSBK season and has built a strong bond with the team. We want to build on this understanding to take another step forward. Twan joined us only for the final three rounds, but his approach and qualities convinced us to put our trust in him for a full season. The updates provided by Yamaha represent a sign of confidence in our project and give us additional motivation. Our job will be to make the most of them and give both riders the best possible conditions to perform and improve our results. Special thanks to Yamaha for their support and for strongly backing Twan’s arrival in our team, sharing this project with us. I would also like to thank all our sponsors and partners who make this commitment possible and continue to believe in our work.”
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