Marc Marquez was dominant in the 2025 MotoGP World Championship, winning the title with five rounds to spare – which was just as well as he missed the last four weekends through injury.
The combination of the mercurial Spaniard and the factory Ducati remains the target for the following pack, but we think things might be a bit closer this year… maybe!
Aprilia were strong in 2025. Marco Bezzecchi won a total of three Grands Prix, including the last two of the season, to finish third overall in the standings, and the all Italian combination is only going to get better this year. All things being equal, we expect them to be able to take the fight more consistently to the world champions this time around.
Bezz’ team-mate remains 2024 world champion Jorge Martin, and he will be hoping for better things after his horrible first year on the RS-RR. The Spaniard moved to Aprilia last year after winning the title on a satellite Ducati, but injuries meant he missed half the season and never really featured when he was on the grid. On paper, they should put up a title fight in 2026, although more surgeries has seen him miss much of the pre-season tests.
Most of Marc’s challenges should come from within, as there are five other Ducatis piloted by proven race winners. It feels like team-mate Francesco Bagnaia is in the last chance saloon at the factory Lenovo Ducati squad. He had a frustrating 2025 which could see him winning one week and running stone last the next. General consensus is that this will be his last year on the Ducati with which he’s won two world titles, and he needs a strong start to put himself in the best place to land a plum ride in 2027. His pedigree and pace makes him well placed to do so, but with a team mate like Marc on the other side of the garage, he’ll need to bring his A game right from round one.
Marc’s biggest challenge last year came from brother Alex. He stays with the Gresini Ducati squad with which he won two Grands Prix and three sprints, taking him to second in the championship. His consistency means he’ll almost certainly be up there again this year, though his ability to usurp his older brother on a regular basis seems less likely. His team-mate will again be 2025’s rookie of the year, Fermin Aldeguer.
The Spaniard was fast and even won in his first year in the premier class. He should take another step this time around, although a bad injury has seen him miss pre-season testing and at least the first two rounds. Ducati’s third squad, Valentino Rossi’s VR46 outfit, also has a pair of race winners on board, with Fabio di Gianntonino and Franco Morbidelli completing an unchanged line up.
KTM will be looking to step up after a challenging 2025 campaign which took place under the shadow of the Austrian manufacturer’s financial woes. They didn’t win any races last year, despite wonderkid Pedro Acosta’s valiant efforts. Rumours are lining up the Spaniard for a move to Ducati in 2026, where he would replace Bagnaia, but he’ll be keen to prove he’s still top dog among a talented quartet of KTM riders, which includes former race winners Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini and Maverick Vinales.
Japan’s traditionally dominant marques have been in the doldrums for the past few seasons, but both have reasons for optimism. Honda has been strong in preseason testing, with both Luca Marini and 2020 world champion Joan Mir featuring towards the top of the timesheets. Look out too for highly rated Brazilian Diego Moreira, who joins Johann Zarco at LCR Honda after winning the Moto2 title last year.
Yamaha are giving a full-time debut to its new V4 version of the YZR-M1, after a few wildcard appearances in the hands of test rider Augusto Fernandez last term. All eyes will be on the once dominant manufacturer as they not only look to develop a new machine but also try to hold on to star man Fabio Quartararo, who is out of contract at the end of the year.
We expect a challenging first half of the season, as they iron out the inevitable new bike glitches, but it appears to be a long-term project for Yamaha, who will once again have Alex Rins alongside Quartararo in the factory squad. There’s much interest in the satellite Pramac Yamaha squad too, where the returning Jack Miller is joined by much vaunted rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu.
The three-time World Superbike champion is making his highly anticipated switch to MotoGP after years of weaving his magic in the production based class. While he’s not expected to feature on too many podiums in year one, it will be interesting to see how his famously aggressive riding style translates to the stiffer MotoGP bikes and their Michelin tyres.
Talking of WorldSBK, Toprak’s departure leaves the door open for a new series of contenders in that championship. Ducati’s Nicolo Bulega starts as red hot favourite, having been his biggest rival in the past two years. Ducati has brought a new Panigale V4R to the table in 2026 and, on paper, it’s the bike to beat – although the lack of dry pre-season running means they are likely to be going into round one without much of a base setting.
Don’t discount new team-mate Iker Lecouna either. The Spaniard has a couple of superbike seasons under his belt on the fickle Honda Fireblade. If he gels with the bike and team, there’s no reason why he can’t step up and win races this year.
Portugal’s Miguel Olivieria makes his WorldSBK debut having made a direct swap with Razgatlioglu. Toprak’s success was so highly regarded because it came in spite of, rather than because of, the BMW’s performance.
No one else has made the M 1000 RR work so well, so if Olivieria can get close to the podium, he’ll be doing well in his debut season in the category – although as a former MotoGP race winner expectations remain high. His team-mate is another rider who has won in the top class, superbike stalwart Danilo Petrucci, who moves to BMW after finishing fifth in the overall standings last year on a private Ducati.
Privately entered Ducatis make up half of the 2026 grid, headed by double former champion Alvaro Bautista. He’s at the Barni Spark Racing Team alongside Italian hotshoe Yari Montella, with Brits Sam Lowes and Tarran Mackenzie among the other riders to have what should be a competitive Panigale ride.
Lowes’ twin brother Alex remains with Bimota, on the back of a 2025 campaign which saw him finish sixth in the world standings, and there’s further British representation at Honda, where former Moto2 front runner Jake Dixon makes the switch to superbikes. The Fireblade has been an improving package in recent years, and the manufacturer will be hoping that the combination of the hard charging Brit and the acquisition of recently retired superbike GOAT Jonathan Rea can help them make that final step towards success.
Rea’s retirement has left a vacancy at Yamaha, who have ironically brought in Xavi Vierge from Honda. The Spaniard was a regular top 10 finisher last year and has looked at home in testing on the R1. He joins Andrea Locatelli, the super consistent Yamaha stalwart who took a popular first win last year. In total there will be six R1s on the grid in 2026, with the officially supported GRT squad featuring newly promoted World Supersport champion Stefano Manzi alongside former Moto2 champion Remy Gardner, who enters his fourth year in the series.
The British Superbike Championship once again looks set to provide plenty of action, with a whole host of riders capable of winning not only races but the championship.
Defending champion Kyle Ryde makes the switch from Yamaha to Ducati, with the Italian brand’s roster also including multiple runner-up Glenn Irwin and former champs Tommy Bridewell, Leon Haslam and Scott Redding. Any of that quintet could be winners again in 2026, with the new Panigale V4R looking hugely promising on paper, even if the modifications made to the latest generation model are unproven on the UK’s tight and twisting tracks.
Boosting the Ducati ranks are Andrew Irwin, on a 2025 specification machine, and fan favourite Storm Stacey, whose Bathams AJN Steelstock team are taking the unusual step of converting a Panigale road bike, rather than buying a race spec machine directly from Ducati Corse – making it an even more unknown quantity.
What is well proven in BSB is the Yamaha R1, which has won four of the last five championships. Bradley Ray, the 2022 champ, was dominant in the first half of the 2025 campaign, but fell away when it mattered during the latter half of the season.
He’ll be looking to make amends on the always competitive machine put out by Raceways Motorcycles. Despite Ryde’s defection to Ducati, and the withdrawal of the Martrain Racing squad, the Yamaha ranks have been swollen with TAS Racing and Sencat both making the moves to R1. All will have top jockeys on board, with Christian Iddon being Sencat’s choice and TAS lining up Danny Kent alongside Rory Skinner. All three are former race winners and couldn’t be ruled out of a title bid.
Of the other teams, Kawasaki’s official entry moves from the long-in-the-tooth ZX-10RR Ninja to the Kawasaki powered Bimota KB 988 Rimini. They’ve retained the exciting Max Cook and added another rising talent, Joe Talbot, in a youthful squad.
Honda once again have a strong line-up, with Jason O’Halloran returning from World Endurance racing as a champion, to lead the Fireblade charge alongside the hard charging Ryan Vickers, who’s back in BSB after a year in the world championship. The Honda again proves to be the privateer’s bike of choice with Hawk Racing, TAG Racing, DAO Racing and CDH Racing all running the ‘Blade. Among the top Honda runners are former champion Josh Brookes, at DAO and current Supersport champion Rhys Irwin, who makes his debut at Hawk.
Completing the grid will be a two bike entry for BMW, with Peter Hickman and Davey Todd’s 8TEN Racing team once again representing the German brand on the roads and British championships.
Talking of the roads, we’re still waiting on news of what the main runners and riders will be up to at the Isle of Man TT Races. The festival takes place between 25 May and 6 June, and we’ll bring you all the latest news as it breaks on our social media channels.
