A key face behind the scenes for not one, but two of the paddock’s classes, Elisabetta Corsa’s career in motorsport started perhaps by chance. Still, today, Costa’s experience and candour make her an indispensable figure in keeping the paddock working like a well-oiled machine and advising the many up-and-coming riders she works with.

SIEZING THE OPPORTUNITY: “The team had many guests, and it was difficult to coordinate them. I divided them into groups for the garage tours…”

Costa got her start in motorsport as an interpreter in the MotoGP paddock. She quickly showed her organisational talents and strong initiative in her time there. She credits much of her early progress to her flexibility and highlighted how in her eyes, if one is flexible and open to learning, the sky is the limit.

On her introduction to working in the sport and what’s enabled her success since then, Costa said: “It all started back in 2005. I had studied languages and was working as an interpreter, and I knew of a MotoGP team where my current boss was working. That weekend, I saw the team had many guests, and it was difficult to coordinate them. So, I divided them into groups for garage tours. I hadn’t been hired to do that, but someone from the team noticed me and said, “We need you.” The next season, I joined them in a logistics role. They appreciated my flexibility, I think. That’s key in this environment: flexibility and the willingness to learn. I’m [now] a coordinator for both the R3 bLU cRU World Cup and WorldWCR. I take care of logistics and organise travel for my staff – around 25 people across both championships. I’m also the liaison between Dorna, the technicians, the riders, and their families, because the BLU CRU riders are aged 14-20. I help the riders with any issues they may have, give them advice, scheduling information, reminders – what they need to do and when.”

STEPPING AWAY: “It was really tough, and I thought, ‘I didn’t study languages just to speak my mother tongue in an office.”

After three seasons away from the sport to give birth to and care for her second child, she chafed under the constraints of her new office job career path, in which she was not able to take advantage of her love for languages. In contrast, with the multitude of nationalities and languages found in motorsport, her talents in that field were indispensable.

She explained: “I’ve always had a real passion for languages… But after my second child was born, I stopped completely. I stayed in touch with my boss – and ended up working in a regular office job. It was really tough. The only language I used was my dialect, and I thought, “I didn’t study languages just to speak my mother tongue in an office.”

A NEW CHAPTER: “In my position, if you’re true to yourself and true to others, people appreciate it. I try to be empathetic in everything I do”

Then, however, Costa’s luck turned; a former boss told her about an exciting new category being created, the R3 Cup. It was soon clear to be a match made in heaven, Costa’s talent with learning languages as well as finely-honed people skills made her a key part of the Championship, building bridges across nationalities and helping the Cup’s cadre of young talented riders feel comfortable in the star-studded WorldSBK paddock.

On her return to the world of motorsport and what she particularly loves about the paddock, and how her experience as a mother helps her professionally, Costa said: “Seven years ago, my former boss showed me a new project. It was totally different – the R3 Cup – and I fell in love with it. One minute, I was speaking French; the next, Spanish. It’s rare to have a job that lets you speak all the languages you want every day. What I love most is the mixture of cultures. I like spending time with people who have different views, different languages, different mentalities – because you can learn a lot. And you can help them get the best out of themselves, while you yourself evolve. I really like this human side of the job. And since we’re dealing with children, my experience as a mum helps. I’m sort of a psychologist sometimes – I take mum or dad aside and try to give them some friendly advice. In my position, if you’re true to yourself and true to others, people appreciate it. I try to be empathetic in everything I do.”

A DIFFERENT APPROACH: “I’m very holistic, which might be missing in the paddock sometimes, and I’ve found my space here thanks to that”

With 2024’s inaugural WorldWCR season, Costa’s workload grew; however, in the face of that adversity, she was happy to already have the R3 Cup’s learning experiences under her belt by that point. Ultimately, Costa’s philosophy, which has helped her so much in her professional career, is one deeply rooted in empathy and treating every rider as she would hope to be treated.

Discussing the extra workload with WorldWCR starting, Costa stated: “When we started with the WorldWCR Championship, the workload grew, but we were able to apply everything we’d learned from the R3 Cup. It was the right step forward. I think what helps me in this job is my flexibility, my openness, and my effort to understand people who are very different from me. It’s not easy to put yourself in someone else’s shoes – but I try. I’m very holistic, which might be missing in the paddock sometimes, and I’ve found my space here thanks to that. When you work with people as individuals, you can help them bring out their best. It’s really satisfying. I love seeing someone benefit from a piece of advice they may have never received before. At the end of the day, we try to be a big family.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

It’s not often you meet a law graduate who is also a World Championship race winner and title contender. Beatriz Neila meets both criteria, though, graduating during the 2024 season while often riding in the front four, fighting for victory. She made a huge step in 2025, taking the fight to eventual Champion Maria Herrera at every round, winning four races and finishing on the podium in all 12. Speaking for the “I, Woman and Rider” series, Neila expanded on her off-track life, from law studies to family support and much more.

COMBINING LAW WITH RACING: “At the beginning of 2024, it was pretty difficult… It was a challenge, but I did it”

At just 23, Neila is already very accomplished, both on and off the racetrack. The four-time Women’s European Champion was, until last year, combining her racing with full-time university studies in the field of law. No easy feat, as Neila herself admits: “I graduated last year, just after the first WorldWCR round at Misano. I’m so proud because it’s super difficult to do the sport and study at the same time. It took me four years, and I now have a law degree plus a master’s in international law. It was tough, especially at first, because it was a new stage for me. But then I started to enjoy the process, and it all became a little easier. When it came to the final year of my university studies, I knew it would be particularly hard because it would coincide with the first year of the WorldWCR Championship. And I was right – at the beginning of 2024, it was pretty difficult with all my classes, exams, presentations, and at the same time I needed to train with a new bike, the R7, very different to the 300 I had been riding before. It was a challenge, but I did it – I graduated and also finished fourth in WorldWCR. I’m a person who finds it difficult to be ‘tranquilla’, I like to be busy, doing many things. And I think that’s how I was able to juggle it all. I’m a person who just works, works, works. I never really felt like I was missing out on university life at all, because I just prefer to be studying or training to be honest!”

CHANGING HER PLANS: “Before WorldWCR was launched, I thought that law was my plan A and sport my plan B”

Neila also spoke about how WorldWCR launching in 2024 changed her future, revealing that she likely would’ve gone into law as a plan A before being able to fight for a World Championship title in WorldWCR: “Before WorldWCR was launched, I thought that law was my plan A and sport my plan B, because it’s difficult to reach a high level with the racing. But now, with this championship, my plan B has become my plan A because it means so much to me. I think the championship provides women with a good opportunity to show the world what we can do on a bike, and so I’m fully focused on this right now.

“As for the future, I would like to work as a lawyer, but as a lawyer in sport. My plan has changed because when I started studying, I was thinking of becoming a state attorney, as I also really like politics. I think the fields of sport and law are similar because, when a lawyer is in court, they have advisors, yes, but it’s the lawyer who takes the stage and serves as the linchpin. And here it’s the same, because I have the team, but when I put my helmet on, it’s just me and my bike.”

FAMILY SUPPORT: “They basically said, ok, if you pass your exams at school, you can ride, but if you start getting low grades…”

Away from the track, Beatriz acknowledges the role that her family has played in her success. She has a very close relationship with her parents and siblings, all of whom are there for her every step of the way: “My family supports me a lot. If I decide to become a lawyer, they will give me the best support. If I decide to focus on this sport and work to be the best, my family is going to support me a lot with training camps, two days in Valencia, two days in MotorLand, my father saying, ok, we are going to organise this, or we are going to train like that.

“I have two younger siblings, sister Carla and brother Raul. We’re super close, also in age, as I’m 23 and they’re 21 and 20. My brother and I started riding at the same time, but my father originally bought a bike for my brother, not for me, as he considered this a sport for boys, not for girls. My brother found it difficult to juggle riding and school, so in the end my family focused on me. I worked hard, both training in the gym but also with my studies. They basically said, ok, if you pass your exams at school, you can ride, but if you start getting low grades… My brother doesn’t really come to see me at the tracks, but he does a lot of motocross. He’s really good and is like a teacher to me, giving me tips and advice, which is so nice. The three of us – my brother, my sister and I – are like a “piña”, a tribe. My sister is my everything and we are together every hour of every day.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Time is running out on MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship’s amazing offers across the WorldSBK Store and WorldSBK VideoPass! Huge Discounts on subscriptions, merchandise and much more will only be available for the next few hours. Make sure you check out the special offers to save on your subscription or get that gift for your loved ones!

WorldSBK VideoPass – €15 off the 2026 subscription

Sign up during the Black Friday offer and punch your ticket for all of 2026’s action as well as the expansive video archive stretching back to the early days of the Championship! If you act fast, you can get €14.90 off the price, giving you access to every practice session, every Tissot Superpole and every race, plus an extraordinary historic archive to watch classic races and moments from years gone by. Check out the offer HERE.

WorldSBK Store – discounts on merchandise

The WorldSBK Store’s savings event is also ticking down! You’ll receive up to a massive 60% off on selected items, plus a chance to win a free gift by meeting certain criteria, adding to the excitement of searching for merchandise, team wear and much more. With the holiday season fast approaching, WorldSBK merch makes for a great gift. Visit the WorldSBK Store and explore the full catalogue HERE.

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Alex Lowes and his Bimota team have continued the upwards trajectory they left off with at the close of the 2025 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship season, topping the second day of testing at Jerez. While they didn’t appear on Day one, the duo undertook a rigorous testing plan that saw them ride 149 laps cumulatively, more than any other rider pair. It wasn’t just quantity over quality, however as Lowes set the fastest lap of the day on his 45th lap of 76 on an SCQ tyre, and Bassani landed in P6. Now, riders will enjoy a break for the holiday season before returning to the track to keep taking steps in 2026.

AN IDEAL DAY IN JEREZ: “Conditions are cool, track’s grippy, so it’s hard to know, but I do believe we’ve made a couple of steps since the last race of 2025”

Among the items on their to-do list, Lowes worked on their chassis setup, new suspension components from manufacturer Showa, and a different swingarm configuration. With their rapid lap times, clearly something was working, and while Lowes was measured in his reaction to the day, cautious not to fall into a false sense of security that the cool weather and the absence of the formidable factory Ducati team could cause.

On his test plan, Lowes said: “It’s always pretty difficult to test here in the winter because the track’s quite grippy, the temperature’s cool, so you have to be really precise about what you’re testing because everything more or less feels quite good. My best lap was with the SCQ tyre; I did one lap with that in the middle of the day. We changed the chassis of the bike, setup-wise, quite a lot; a different swingarm than what we used during the season, different parts from Showa, and a different balance of the bike. We tried to see how it affected it. The balance was quite good. We started to work on a few other things. Electronics work, corner entry stuff, but it’s hard to really know, especially with not everyone here. Conditions are cool, track’s grippy, so it’s hard to know, but I do believe we’ve made a couple of steps since the last race of 2025. We’ll find out when we get going on different tracks, but I think we’ve definitely improved our package since the last round of 2025, and that’s all we can do. We’re happy with the work we’ve done.”

GETTING UP TO SPEED: “It was my first time working with my new crew chief, so we need a little bit of time to try to work in the perfect way”

Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) showed glimpses of his speed in 2025 as he and his teammate took on the challenge of helping the Bimota factory team get back into the swing of WorldSBK competition. While it was Alex Lowes who featured in the team’s brightest moments in 2025, Bassani is eager to prove himself to the team and the paddock as a whole. Having made his debut at this test, ‘El Bocia’ will now have a wealth of experience brought by his new crew chief, Uri Pallares, who was previously working with Jonathan Rea.

On his new crew chief and his Jerez test in his eyes, Bassani said: “It was a bit of a difficult day because I’m a little bit sick. We did a lot of laps, and we tried a lot of things. It was my first time working with my new crew chief, so we need a little bit of time to try to work in the perfect way, but I’m happy. Uri’s a really good person and a professional. Slowly, we started to work and tried to understand without putting too much pressure on ourselves. In the end, the pace wasn’t bad. We were always three or four tenths behind Alex, but he was the best rider on track today. This is good for the team because it means the bike is working well. It’s only the first steps for us.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and his team put on a show at the two-day test event at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, Andalucia. Yamaha bikes littered the timesheets’ top spots across both days, including on Day 1, where Locatelli was the fastest on the day by nearly four tenths of a second. If he and his team can translate results like these into next year, the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock’s already stacked 2026 lineup may be that much more formidable at the front.

PLOTTING A COURSE: “We understood something, and we have some positive things to try again in January”

Like other Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) also stated, the #55 and his team are cognizant of the fact that Jerez’s high grip and cool temperatures during the test helped different components and settings feel better than they might end up being during the spring and summer when the season is in full swing. External factors aside, Locatelli looked confident and comfortable on his bike, which could prove the difference in itself for the talented Italian rider.

On how he felt it went overall, Locatelli said: “I think it was a great day. The track conditions changed quickly; they were different from Day 1. I think what we worked on around the bike was working well. We had a lot of confidence; we were riding really well with rhythm. It was a positive day. We know these conditions, in general, help a lot, since it’s not really hot like on race weekend. We understood something, and we have some positive things to try again in January.”

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD: “We tried to make different setups on the bike. I think what we found put us on a good direction”

One area of the R1 that was frequently mentioned last season, more so by Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha) than by Locatelli, was the sensation at the rear, speaking to the desire for improved grip. Now that the season is over and events like offseason testing are underway, it is the perfect opportunity for Locatelli and his team to rehash their setup and explore more extreme solutions they didn’t have the chance to try in 2025.

On the new items he and his team tried out on Day 2, Locatelli said: “Compared to Day 1, we tried to make different setups on the bike. We swapped bikes to try some new parts, especially on the rear. We tried to improve and see if it’s better. I think what we found put us on a good direction; it wasn’t working too badly, but it’s difficult to say yes or no now and make a decision; we’ll wait until January, when we ride on another track to be sure what we have tried is working.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Two more days at the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, Andalucia, are in the books, and this time around, the field welcomed Honda HRC’s new faces Somkiat Chantra and Jake Dixon to the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship paddock. The riders didn’t need much time to get up to speed, and across both days, the riders improved their times as they meshed more with the bike, the team, and the paddock as a whole.

GETTING A GRIP: “We’re happy with the progress we’ve made. I need to do more laps on the bike and come to understand the tyre”

Somkiat Chantra was one of the two riders to make the jump from MotoGP to the WorldSBK paddock, a move which saw him stay with Honda machinery, but there is still plenty for the Thai 26-year-old to get his head around. One of the most notable differences to the #35 is the tyres, as he is more accustomed to Michelin tyres from the MotoGP paddock. Differences aside, Chantra was clearly enthusiastic about him and the team’s progress, and his progression will be one to watch in the coming months.

On his debut WorldSBK test Chantra said: “It was really nice in my first test with Honda HRC. We worked on many things with the team, and I tried to learn the bike and learn about the Pirelli tyres. We ran a lot of laps and tried to understand everything about the bike. Day by day, we were happier and happier, we started to improve our times and try more things. We’re happy with the progress we’ve made. I need to do more laps on the bike and come to understand the tyre; I found it difficult to stop the bike at times. With more laps and more confidence, I think we can push more next year. Compared to the MotoGP bike, they’re completely different. We tried to set up the electronics similar to a MotoGP bike and we found a good way of running it, and now we just need time to go step by step.”

ALL SMILES FROM DIXON: “I had a couple of crashes trying just to learn exactly how things are with it sometimes. I couldn’t be happier with the team”

After being called up to WorldSBK from Moto2, Jake Dixon felt pleased to be back on a comparatively larger superbike due to his experience in British superbikes as opposed to what he would have been riding in Moto2. Dixon’s times improved as the test went on, and while he crashed three times, to him it was all part of coming to understand the bike’s limits. While the time in the garage making repairs saw them lose time preventing any time with the SCQ tyre, the plentiful long runs were enough to put a smile on the #96’s face when asked about his days in Jerez.

On his first test event in the paddock and his view of his crashes, Dixon said: “It was really really good, honestly, it’s so nice to be back on a big bike again, having that power is really really nice, but it’s a massive, massive learning curve. Unfortunately, I had a couple of crashes trying just to learn exactly how things are with it sometimes. I couldn’t be happier with the team. I’ve never been with a more professional team. There are more people in this team than I’ve ever had around me before, so that’s really nice. It’s just a massive learning curve, and I need to take my time with it. The crashes were a little silly, I was too over the limit with the braking, today I didn’t feel too good with the front, I crashed in Turn 2, it was nothing, and then the last one, I wheelied far too much coming out of T4, couldn’t get the bike stopped, ran into the gravel and put the bike down because the barrier was coming. I’m a little stiff from that last one, I could have done without that, to be fair. Not an ideal situation, but that’s racing. It’s been a great two days, a lot of laps, a lot of long runs. Unfortunately, because of the crash, we didn’t get to put a qualifying tyre in, so that’s all she wrote for today.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Riders sent 2025 out with a bang as they partook in the final test event of 2025. With the grid’s full-time riders provisionally set. Teams’ focus shifts now to how they can get every bit out of their packages as they can before the first round of the 2026 MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship at Phillip Island, kicking off on February 20^th, 2026. In Jerez, once again it was a sunny- albeit cold- day, providing teams in attendance a full day of track time to improve their setups. Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) didn’t need day 1 to prove his speed on Day 2, and he was tailed closest by Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) and Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team), who were each less than four tenths behind.

BIMOTA SHOWING SIGNS OF PROGRESS: Alex Lowes P1, Bassani P6

While they didn’t participate in Day 1, Bimota showed again that their KB998 Rimini’s late-season form was no fluke. Alex Lowes ran an emphatic 76 laps, tied for the most of any rider, and his fastest time around of 1’37.825s was faster than Nicolo Bulega’s (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) fastest lap in Race 1 and Race 2 at the same circuit in 2025. Finishing in P6, with a best time of 1’38.584s, Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) welcomed a new crew chief, Uri Pallares, into his box, the experienced name making the move to work with ‘El Bocia’ after the retirement of his long-time rider, Jonathan Rea.

YAMAHA FILL OUT THE FRONT POSITIONS AGAIN: Two Yamaha bikes in the front four positions

Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the fastest on the timesheets as he continues to adapt to Yamaha blue from his four-year Honda stint. His 1’38.058s time placed him P2, just under a quarter of a second slower than Alex Lowes at the top of the timesheets. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) was the second quickest rider in blue, finishing fourth on the order, with his time of 1’38.134s just four thousandths slower than van der Mark as he and his team experimented with different geometric settings on their chassis and slight changes to his bike’s swingarm. Additionally, Locatelli spent the two-day test working for the first time with new crew chief Giuilo Nava after he moved from Aruba.it Racing- Ducati, where he won two World Championships with Alvaro Bautista. Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) on Day 2 didn’t run as many laps as in Day 1, but his 1’38.606s time saw him place in the same spot as he landed seventh-fastest.

BMW CONTINUING TO FIND FOOTING: ‘Petrux’ improves to P5

Once again, Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) flexed his familiarity with the bike, finishing third fastest and putting in a solid two days of work for his team, running a total of 150 laps and finished in third. While van der Mark’s time of 1’38.126s was quicker than each of their new riders, Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) and Miguel Oliveira (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) had similar times and now have more laps under their belt atop the M 1000 RR as they begin to mesh with new electronics engineer Christophe Lambert, who joins from Bimota. For Oliveira, his crew chief is similarly new to the team, as Andrew Pitt will hope to strike up a strong relationship in the months to come. In their second and final day at Jerez, Petrucci finished in P5 with a time of 1’38.470s, ahead of Oliveira who clocked in at 1’38.890s to place eighth-fastest.

FAMILIARISATION CONTINUES FOR HONDA: Chantra and Dixon put on similar performances

Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC) finished the day as the faster of the full-time rider pair by 0.314s, as his time of 1’39.494s placed him P9. Test rider Tetsuta Nagashima (HRC Test Team) finished next of the Honda machines, clocking a 1’39.609s for P10, ahead of Jake Dixon (Honda HRC), who took home P11 through his best lap of 1’39.808s. The #96 and #35 followed a plan mainly focused on getting to know the bike, and they will be happy to know that their times improved over the test.

WORLD SUPERSPORT WORKING FOR 2026: Alcoba finds his Spanish Round form in the Jerez Test

Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team)  was fastest of the World Supersport riders despite a late red-flag-inducing crash between turns 12 and 13. His 1’42.167s time outpaced Day 1’s fastest rider, Corentin Perolari (Honda Racing World Supersport) by five hundredths, and 2025 MotoE rider Mateo Ferrari (WRP Racing) by  0.214s. Dominique Aegerter (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) continued his boot camp with his new ZX-6R 636, placing fourth fastest of the WorldSSP bikes and a fastest lap of 1’43.492s. Rounding out the WorldSSP riders who participated: Ana Carrasco (Honda Racing World Supersport) was fifth-quickest, clocking in at 1’44.077s, followed by Rookie Ricardo Rossi (Renzi Corse) with a 1’44.135s, and Petr Svoboda (WRP Racing), who logged a 1’44.697s fastest lap.

The combined top six permanent grid riders from both days of the Jerez Test:

1 Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) 1’37.825s

2. Xavi Vierge (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +0.233s

3. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus Yamaha) +0.309s

4. Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) +0.645s

5. Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) +0.759s

6. Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT Yamaha WorldSBK Team) +0.781s

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Bimota looks to return stronger than ever in their second year back in the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship after more than a decade’s hiatus. Now, as well as an ever-improving KB998 Rimini bike to propel them forward on track, Team Manager Guim Roda explained how new faces in the garage bring a treasure trove of WorldSBK experience to the team. Most prominently for Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team), he will now have Uri Pallares as his crew chief in 2026, replacing the experienced Marcel Duinker, who will move into a Track Engineer role with an emphasis on developing the bike.

FREE TO EXPERIMENT: “We’ll be testing a lot of items that we didn’t have a chance to experiment with on the bike’s setup”

All set to tinker with their KB998 Rimini in anticipation of the 2026 season, Roda explained how the second test at Jerez is anticipated to be more beneficial than the test at the same venue a month ago. A lack of rain and consistent temperatures will help their engineers pinpoint issues and opportunities for growth that they can address to build further on the high note the Bimota crew ended 2025 on.

On his team’s regimen for Day 2 of the second Jerez Test, Team Manager Guim Roda said: “We’ll be testing a lot of items that we didn’t have a chance to experiment with on the bike’s setup, all these kinds of things we want to try out to continue finding a direction. The cold conditions on track will help because track temperatures will be consistent. In the summer when the temperature rises, it’s hard to know what is affecting what.”

A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE: “Uri has experience with the technical side, especially with suspension, as well as a crew chief with engineering skills; he’s a great asset to have”

Components aside, one of the biggest changes for the team is the arrival of the well-respected Uri Pallares to the garage, making the jump from Yamaha, where he was working with Jonathan Rea (Pata Maxus Yamaha). Pallares left Kawasaki with Rea when he made his headline move to Yamaha, and now, in light of his retirement, will move to Bimota to work as Bassani’s crew chief. Marcel Duinker, Bassani’s previous crew chief, will be staying with the team and transitioning to a track engineering role, as well as working concurrently with Kawasaki, where he won the 2013 World Championship with rider Tom Sykes.

 On the team’s personnel reshuffling, Roda said: “Uri Pallares will be Axel’s new crew chief, and Marcel Duinker will move to more of an engineering role to support development and work with Kawasaki. He’ll also be helping out teams riding on Bimota bikes in the national championships. Uri has experience with the technical side, especially with suspension, as well as a crew chief with engineering skills; he’s a great asset to have. He has been the chief mechanic for many years; he was working very closely with Pere Riba, and he has more experience than people think with organising a team for a race or a test at a high level, and we think he’s ready to work with Axel.”

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Source: WorldSBK.com

Excitement continues to build in anticipation of the FIM Sportbike World Championship’s inaugural 2026 season. Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Kove, Triumph and Aprilia machines are set to go bar-to-bar, and the permanent riders and their teams have the provisional grid set. Now the focus in the garage can turn to shaking down their platforms and preparing for their eight-round season, which kicks off at Portimao on Friday, March 27^th. All 33 talented permanent riders across the 18 teams are gearing up with the same dream in mind, lifting the WorldSPB trophy in the Championship’s maiden year. For the official entry list, click HERE!

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Source: WorldSBK.com