Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) has doubled up on his podium success in 2026 after scoring his maiden rostrum result at the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s opening race at Phillip Island. He walks away from the Balaton Park Circuit’s Motul Hungarian Round in a comfortable fifth-place position after a terrific trio of results, including a Race 1 fourth place, a Tissot Superpole Race fifth place, and a Race 2 third place to end the round on the rostrum.

STARTING STRONG: Montella earned his third WorldSBK career front row start on Saturday at Balaton Park

The #5 snagged the last spot on the all-Italian front row after clocking himself a 1’38.719s time, six tenths off of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) on pole position. A surprise, rapid start from Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) meant Montella couldn’t quite take advantage of Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) crashing in front of him, and after a Lap 7 move saw Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) come through past him, despite Surra’s drop in pace, Montella went on to finish P4.

In the Tissot Superpole Race, his veteran teammate Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) came through early despite starting back in P9. While Andrea Locatelli's (Pata Maxus Yamaha) double Long Lap Penalty for Irresponsible Riding on the opening lap handed to him by FIM WorldSBK Stewards meant he plummeted down the order, promoting Montella to fifth on Lap 2, but his pace was very similar to the #19’s, preventing him from making up time and leaving him in a P5 finish.

SHOOTING HIS SHOT: “In Race 2, I saw the chaos of the first lap, and I used this chaos to build a gap”

Starting farther back in P5 for Race 2, Montella was taking no prisoners as he laid down his fastest lap of the race on Lap 2, dispelling both Baldassarri and his teammate to take P3. The 1’39.126s was the fourth fastest of the session, as aside from the factory Ducati pair at the front, only the #34 managed a better single-lap time as he started a Lap 15 charge, cutting down the deficit to Montella to half a second bit, but it was too little too late for Balda as Montella held on to take his second ever WorldSBK podium.

On his round-closing podium, Montella said: “In Race 2, I saw the chaos of the first lap, and I used this chaos to build a gap. After the second lap, I believe, Balda overtook someone, and they both went wide. I had a free path in front of me, so I knew that was my moment to try to push and open a gap. Fortunately, I built a gap that I could manage despite struggling with grip on the left side of the rear tyre. We take the podium result home, though, so we’re happy for that. We worked a ton this winter, I’m focused on my goals, and I think because of that, we improved on last year’s results here, which were the worst of my career.”

GETTING BACK IN TOUCH: “After Portimao and my two crashes, we used Assen to start to rebuild my feeling with the bike”

Montella’s second podium helps confirm the speed he showed at the Ducati-favourable Phillip Island racetrack at the beginning of the season. Not only is Balaton Park a very different circuit, much more stop-and-go and nowhere near as flowing, but it’s a circuit where the #5 struggled last season. 2026 was a big leap in the right direction, not only in speed but in results. His podium count is now up to two after none last season, and he sits in fifth place in the Riders’ Championship, just three points behind the #88.

 On what the positive results in Hungary mean to him, Montella said: “I’m happy, it was something special. A podium after Phillip Island here at Balaton, at a track which is not my favourite; it’s something even better. It means we worked really, really well. We did a good job; after Portimao and my two crashes, we used Assen to start rebuilding my feeling with the bike, and a bit of the same here in FP1. Session by session, we improved. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done here.”

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