Can Oncu called up to British Supersport: world-class showdown with Oli Bayliss at Thruxton

The Turkish rider has a chance to stay sharp in British SSP: as a substitute, he will ride a Yamaha in the Thruxton round.

Can Oncu has been one of the protagonists of the Supersport World Championship for years and continues to chase the dream of being crowned champion of the class. Racing resumes only on the weekend of September 5–6 at Magny-Cours (France), so the 23-year-old Turk has plenty of time to train and also to answer a call-up from the British Supersport Championship.

It was officially announced today that the 2025 WorldSSP runner-up will be present at the Thruxton round to replace the injured Ben Currie on the McAMS Yamaha R9. He has never taken part in BSB events, so it will be a debut for him. He knows the bike and the tires (Pirelli), but for the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing rider it will be very important to make the most of Friday’s free practice to adapt to a completely new track and a different environment from what he’s used to.

Oncu can’t wait to test himself in Great Britain: "I’m really excited to take part in the British Supersport Championship with McAMS Yamaha at Thruxton next weekend. Standing in for an injured rider is never ideal, but I’m grateful for the opportunity and would like to wish Ben a speedy recovery. My goal will be to get up to speed as quickly as possible, push to the limit, represent Yamaha in the best way, and give my all throughout the weekend. It’s going to be a fantastic experience and I can’t wait to take on this challenge."

At Thruxton the Turkish rider will cross paths with a colleague he knows very well from WorldSSP, namely Oli Bayliss. The son of the legendary Troy has won the last five races with the Street Triple RS 765 of the Triumph Macadam Factory Racing team, which had called him up to replace the injured Bradley Perie. The Australian has performed at a very high level and is even in the title fight. We’ll see if Bayliss and Oncu will have the chance to duel and put on a show next weekend.

The pupil of Kenan Sofuoglu, a Supersport World Championship legend, has taken four pole positions and six podiums in the 2026 season. He currently sits fourth in the overall standings with 178 points, compared to leader Albert Arenas’ 291.

After finishing runner-up in 2025, he was touted as the natural favorite for the 2026 title, but he hasn’t had the consistency needed to be higher in the standings. It’s fair to say his performance has been somewhat disappointing so far: this is his seventh year in WorldSSP, the second on a Yamaha. He knows the R9 better than Arenas, who is a rookie in the class, yet he finds himself more than 100 points behind the Spaniard.

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