Yamaha Enters 2026 Sportbike Championship with R7

Yamaha Motor Europe will enter the revamped R7 in the first-ever FIM Sportbike World Championship in 2026, signing Carter Thompson and Alessandro Di Persio for the debut season.

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With Yamaha’s refreshed YZF-R7 set to hit showrooms for 2026, the brand has officially announced that the bike will also spearhead its campaign in the brand-new FIM World Sportbike Championship, debuting next year. The series replaces the outgoing Supersport 300 category as the new entry-level class under the World Superbike umbrella.

The R7 has already proven itself in multiple competitive arenas. From the various national R7 Cup series to the Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship, it is a fitting candidate to lead Yamaha’s charge into a new era of lightweight international racing.

Carter Thompson Joins BR Corse for 2026

Former Supersport 300 title challenger Carter Thompson will be one of Yamaha’s headline riders in the new championship. The Australian talent came within striking distance of the 2025 SSP300 crown and now steps up with the experienced BR Corse squad, a team with a history of success in world-level competition.

R3 BLU CRU Champion Alessandro Di Persio Moves Up

Also stepping into the Sportbike class is Alessandro Di Persio, fresh off a dominant season in the Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup. Di Persio will graduate to the new category with the Arco Motor University Team. He will become the first rider to benefit from Yamaha’s “step-up” development pathway, moving from R3 competition into world championship racing.

More Yamaha-backed teams and riders are set to be announced ahead of the season opener.

Race-Ready R7 Developed by Yamaha’s R&D Division

To prepare the R7 for its new global role, engineers at Yamaha Motor Europe’s Motorsport R&D division have spent recent months creating a dedicated World Sportbike race kit tailored to the upcoming regulations. Early track testing has already been carried out by elite riders. Riders include WorldSBK star Andrea Locatelli and reigning WorldSSP champion Stefano Manzi, both of whom reportedly gave strong early feedback.

The reworked machine aims to offer the right balance for the class, accessible, competitive, and aligned with Yamaha’s philosophy of nurturing rising riders through progressive competition tiers.

A New Era Begins at Portimão

The inaugural FIM World Sportbike Championship kicks off at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve in Portimão, Portugal, from 27–29 March 2026. Yamaha expects the class to play a key role in shaping the next generation of racing talent worldwide.

Yamaha’s Vision for the New Class

Niccolò Canepa, Road Racing Sporting Manager for Yamaha Motor Europe, expressed confidence in both the R7 platform and the riders chosen to debut it.

With a modernised R7, rising talent, and a fully reimagined championship format, Yamaha enters the 2026 season poised to make a major impact in the launch of the FIM World Sportbike Championship.