There are a lot of changes at Yamaha this year. Rider changes and crew chief changes take the headlines, but will there be a change of fortunes in 2026? That’s a lot harder to forecast because while the YZF-R1 is a very capable machine, it is also a very traditional Superbike when compared to some of the other animals on the grid.
Motorcycle racing in general, and WorldSBK in particular, is predatory. Everyone is out for themselves and out to maximise their advantages. In production racing that means starting with the most advanced bike possible. Yamaha has taken a different tact and made a road bike that’s capable of being a competitive racing machine. Other manufacturers have taken a different approach and it has allowed their base packages to be more competitive.
This difference is one of the reasons that making Superbike racing more akin to Superstock regulations has always been difficult to envision. If you make everything as standard as possible, as close to the road bike as possible, you also accentuate the differences and deficiencies of one machine versus another.
