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THE FUTURE IS NOW: New faces, new teams, new machines; pure motorsport at its finest

2026’s WorldSBK season is set to be one of the most dynamic in recent memory, as this campaign holds a litany of questions left open

With 2026’s MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season right around the corner, questions swirl around the paddock awaiting their answers at lights out. With so many novelties, including new bikes, new faces in the paddock, and familiar faces in new colours, 2026 feels like the dawn of a new era in WorldSBK. Here are some of this season’s top storylines.

NEW RIDES, NEW FACES: Seven riders join the WorldSBK field for this season

Defending Teams’ Champions Aruba.it Racing – Ducati welcome a new face into their garage to ride atop their 2026 Ducati Panigale V4R after four years riding with Honda HRC for the Iker Lecuona. Changing his factory Ducati ride for an Independent Ducati, Alvaro Bautista (Barni Spark Racing Team) joins Yari Montella, where he will take on his first season not atop a factory machine. Replacing Andrea Iannone, Lorenzo Baldassarri (Team GoEleven) returns to the WorldSBK paddock for his second season in the Championship. His compatriots Alberto Surra (Motocorsa Racing) and Mattia Rato (Motoxracing WorldSBK Team) are also joining the field as rookies.

The ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team will feature an all-new lineup as Danilo Petrucci and Miguel Oliveira ride into the German manufacturer’s garage to fill the big shoes left behind by the beloved pair of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Michael van der Mark. Honda HRC will also feature a pair of new faces as they welcome MotoGP’s Somkiat Chantra and Moto2’s Jake Dixon to replace their four-year lineup of Iker Lecuona and Xavi Vierge. For Vierge’s part, he trades Honda HRC red for Yamaha blue, joining Andrea Locatelli with Pata Maxus Yamaha. Stefano Manzi earned his move up to WorldSBK after a masterful WorldSSP campaign in which he crowned himself Champion, clinching a ride with the GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team next to Remy Gardner.

BULEGA THE MAN TO BEAT? Who can stand against ‘Bulegas’ this season?

Twice relegated to second place in the Championship in his first two seasons, Bulega is back for blood in 2026 as he is determined to at last be crowned Champion. He was the only rider who could push Razgatlioglu last year, and with a new 2026 Ducati Panigale V4R underneath him, there are no indications so far that he won’t enjoy the same blistering pace that he’s shown across his career in the Championship so far. Danilo Petrucci has competed at a high level after moving from MotoGP, where he won a pair of races. Now, however, he has the backing of a factory team, and the factory team whose BMW M1000RR bike has proven Champion pedigree. His teammate Miguel Oliveira is a five-time MotoGP race winner, and the team hope that the pair can get up to speed quickly despite a very limited preseason of testing, and in time, go toe to toe with Bulega to try to keep the German manufacturer’s streak rolling

BIMOTA ON THE BRINK OF GREATNESS? Race by race, the KB998 Rimini improved, now, they want to win

After last competing in WorldSBK in 2014, bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team relaunched their WorldSBK project in 2025 to return the Championship. Competitive from the very start, the team and their riders, Axel Bassani and Alex Lowes, took steps as the season went on, particularly Lowes, as he landed all four of the manufacturer’s podiums. He has looked quick so far in very limited testing, but this season the sights are set on the top step of the podium as the team's next logical goal.

NEW TOYS: Ducati and Kawasaki welcome new workhorses into their stables

Ducati’s 2026 Panigale V4R features an updated front aero design n, as well as a big change to its chassis comprised of an all-new double swing arm instead of its previous single swing arm configuration. Ducati engineers weren’t the only ones who have been busy recently; rinforcing Texan rider Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) in his second season in green, the Japanese manufacturer has provided the team with a brand-new bike, the 2026 ZX-10RR Ninja. The bike’s most prominent new feature is the updated aerodynamic package, now featuring aggressive-looking front canards to help provide downforce and improved grip in the corners, something that Gerloff confirmed in Portimao.

Tune in to see how these storylines and many, many more play out in 2026 with the WorldSBK VideoPass!