2026 WorldSBK rider line-up: The grid so far, and the latest rumours
How does the 2026 WorldSBK grid look right now and how could it look by the start of the season?
Here is what we know about the 2026 World Superbike Championship rider line-up so far.
As WorldSBK takes its long summer break between the Hungarian and French rounds in 2025, the 2026 grid is still yet to take its full shape.
Here, we will look at the deals that have already been signed for next season, as well as the rumoured moves that could happen between now and the end of the year.
The table below shows the confirmed riders with their 2026 teams. Below that, you'll find the latest rider market moves for each manufacturer.
| Manufacturer | Team | Riders |
Ducati | Aruba.it Racing | Nicolo Bulega |
| Iker Lecuona | ||
Barni Spark | Yari Montella | |
| Alvaro Bautista | ||
| Elf Marc VDS | Sam Lowes | |
| Team Pata Go Eleven | Lorenzo Baldassarri | |
| Motocorsa | ? | |
| MGM Bonovo | ? | |
BMW | ROKiT BMW Motorrad | Danilo Petrucci |
| Miguel Oliveira | ||
Yamaha | Pata Maxus Yamaha | Andrea Locatelli |
| Xavi Vierge | ||
GYTR GRT Yamaha | Remy Gardner | |
| Stefano Manzi | ||
Motoxracing Yamaha | Bahattin Sofuoglu | |
| Mattia Rato | ||
Honda | Honda HRC | Jake Dixon |
| Somkiat Chantra | ||
Petronas MIE Honda Racing | ? | |
| ? | ||
Bimota | Bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team | Alex Lowes |
| Axel Bassani | ||
| Kawasaki | Kawasaki WorldSBK Team | Garrett Gerloff |
Ducati
The factory Ducati team tied down Nicolo Bulega to a new contract which reportedly includes MotoGP testing responsibilites.
But they also announced that Alvaro Bautista would be replaced.
Iker Lecuona was signed from Honda as Bautista's replacement. Lecuona and Bulega will be the Aruba.it Ducati duo in 2026.
Bautista will drop into the Barni Ducati team as a replacement for the outgoing Danilo Petrucci.
MGM already lost Scott Redding earlier this year, replaced by Tarran Mackenzie, who finished the 2025 season strongly with three top-10s in Jerez but whose future remains uncertain for now.
Andrea Iannone has been replaced by former Moto2 and World Supersport race winner Lorenzo Baldassarri for 2026.
The final two Ducati seats for next season belong to Marc VDS, who will retain Sam Lowes – who re-signed earlier this year for a third season in WorldSBK with Marc VDS – and Motocorsa which was thought to be keeping Ryan Vickers but announced the British rider's departure at the penultimate round in Estoril. Vickers has signed for Honda Racing UK for a BSB return next year.
BMW
BMW seems set to maintain its two-bike effort in WorldSBK next season and could field an all-new line-up.
Toprak Razgatlioglu’s departure to MotoGP with Pramac Yamaha next year has opened the door for Danilo Petrucci to take one of the two factory M1000 RRs.
Petrucci's teammate for 2026 has been confirmed as Miguel Oliveira.
Yamaha
Jonathan Rea has confirmed that he will retire at the end of 2025.
Rea was out of contract with Yamaha and was linked to other teams but instead opted to walk away.
Yamaha had already confirmed Andrea Locatelli to remain with the team in 2026 before Rea's announcement, and had kept Remy Gardner at GRT.
Gardner will be partnered by Stefano Manzi, who looks on-course for this year's Supersport title, while Locatelli will joined by Xavi Vierge in the factory team. Vierge's move from Honda was confirmed at Aragon.
The MotoxRacing Yamaha team will retain Bahattin Sofuoglu for 2026 and replace Michael Ruben Rinaldi with 20-year-old Italian Mattia Rato who rode in the CIV Supersport class last year, finishing third overall.
Honda
Honda is all-change for 2026 with Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona both leaving.
It will also be another all-rookie line-up for HRC, with Somkiat Chantra and Jake Dixon moving over from the MotoGP paddock.
There is also the MIE team, but in recent seasons the line-up there has been confirmed quite late before the start of the season, so we could be waiting a while before we get confirmation of the Japanese squad’s line-up which is currently Tito Rabat and Zaqhwan Zaidi.
Bimota
Bimota will enter its second season in WorldSBK with the KB998 in the same situation as it has contested its first: one team, two bikes, with Alex Lowes and Axel Bassani on-board.
Kawasaki
There is only one Kawasaki on the grid this year and it belongs to Garrett Gerloff at the Puccetti-run Kawasaki WorldSBK Team. None of this will change in 2026, with Gerloff having re-signed earlier in 2025 to stay out for next season.
In this article
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