2027 SILLY SEASON: 2026 World Champion Arenas snags the final full-time seat for 2027

Musical chairs, silly season… call it whatever you want; it’s here in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship. Teams have now each laid down their cards and the full 2027 grid has been confirmed. Check out who will be riding with which teams and a bit about how they got there below.

ALREADY CONTRACTED

Several riders headed into 2026 with a contract for next season under their belt. Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) signed a two-year deal when he signed his latest contract, while Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha), Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) and teammate Remy Gardner all have contracts with Yamaha Motor Europe covering 2027. Jake Dixon (Honda HRC) signed a multi-year agreement with Honda when moving across from Moto2 to WorldSBK.

SIGNED UP FOR 2027

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. At World Ducati Week, the Barni Spark Racing Team announced Yari Montella would remain in place for 2027 – his fifth year with the team across WorldSSP and WorldSBK. Early in the summer break, Aruba.it Racing – Ducati announced Iker Lecuona's renewal for 2027 and 2028. Before WorldSBK action resumed at Magny-Cours, Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) was confirmed to stay with BMW for “2027 and beyond”.

Just after the French Round concluded, it was announced that Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) would leave Yamaha next season, with Jack Miller making the switch from MotoGP to WorldSBK for 2027. A day later, and it was announced that Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) would be heading to MotoGP, ending the long-running saga about his future. On the same day, BMW announced that Brad Binder would partner Oliveira in 2027. Superbike Advocates have had a strong debut campaign with Tommy Bridewell, and they’ve agreed to stay together next season. Vierge will remain in the paddock next year as he links up with the Barni Ducati outfit, replacing Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) as the team confirmed Montella for 2027 earlier this year. One of the most coveted seats, replacing Bulega, has also been filled: ahead of Estoril, it was announced Franco Morbidelli would replace ‘Bulegas’ at Aruba.it Racing – Ducati. It effectively creates a straight swap between the pair. In the leadup to 2026’s penultimate round, Honda HRC announced a renewal between the Japanese team and their Thai rider Somkiat Chantra through 2027. Just before track action started at Estoril, Motocorsa Racing confirmed that 2026 breakout star Alberto Surra would remain with the team next season. Another Independent Ducati star was confirmed as remaining in place for next season, with Lorenzo Baldassarri and Team GoEleven extending their collaboration. The  final piece of the 2027 puzzle fell into place when Team GoEleven announced that 2026 WorldSSP Champion Albert Arenas would move up to WorldSBK as GoEleven Ducati expands to two bikes. The Motoxracing WorldSBK Team will retain the same line-up that ended 2026 with, as both Mattia Rato and Twan Smits stay for 2027.

Confirmed 2027 grid

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