From the scrap heap to triumph: Mizuno with Ducati Kagayama dominates All Japan Superbike

A year ago, right here at SportsLand SUGO, Ryo Mizuno suffered a heavy crash during a test day with his Ducati Panigale V4 R, having a narrow escape. The bike ended up burned to a crisp, and the Team Kagayama flagbearer sustained a serious injury that forced him to stop, compromising his chances of fighting for the All Japan Superbike title. Twelve months later, at SUGO, Mizuno stole the show in the second round on the calendar, sketching out an early attempt to break away in the championship.

With the “old” Ducati Panigale V4 R—one of the two bikes completely rebuilt after the SUGO 2025 test crash—Ryo Mizuno won both races, bringing the tally to three victories in the three contests held so far after the opening round at Motegi. As on that previous occasion, the SDG-Ducati Team Kagayama rider had no rivals: aside from some opening skirmishes with front-running intrusions by Tetsuta Nagashima (on the podium in Race 2) and All Japan king Katsuyuki Nakasuga (twice 2nd with Yamaha Factory), he pulled away and left SUGO with maximum points, leading the championship standings.

The pecking order is clear in this early stretch of the Japanese Superbike season. In the third year of the project, Ryo Mizuno with the Ducati fielded by Yukio Kagayama’s team looks untouchable. On the long climb to the SUGO finish line, the V4 R looked like a missile, with rivals powerless against the former J-GP2 Champion. Katsuyuki Nakasuga, in his final season and honored during the manufacturer’s home weekend by the Yamaha President, could do nothing in either race. The only potential rival, Naomichi Uramoto, isn’t racing this year, as the AutoRace Ube team has embarked on a full-time adventure in the FIM EWC Endurance World Championship.

Until 2024, Ducati had not taken a single victory in All Japan Superbike. After the first wins, a pole, and a near-podium at the 2024 Suzuka 8 Hours, all the conditions are now in place to fill this gap in Borgo Panigale’s trophy cabinet. A European bike winning on the home turf of the Japanese giants would in itself be historic and unprecedented in the history of motorcycling in the Land of the Rising Sun.