Kayla Yaakov on the Ducati MotoGP and SBK: the American rising star wows Misano

Kayla Yaakov tested Bulega’s Ducati SBK and Marquez’s D16 MotoGP at Misano. A magical moment for the American two-wheel star.

It’s not every day you get to lap on both Marc Marquez’s MotoGP Desmosedici and Nicolò Bulega’s WorldSBK Panigale. It’s a fine Ducati reward for Kayla Yaakov, the 18-year-old two-wheel star from Fairfax, Virginia: we’ve already told you about her; she’s been on everyone’s lips for some time now for what she’s accomplishing in road racing. A cross-category Ducatista even in this 2026 season: a protagonist in MotoAmerica Supersport with Team Rahal Ducati (the squad led by former MotoGP and WorldSBK rider Ben Spies), she also made a wildcard appearance (not her first ever) in the CIV Supersport at Mugello with Barni Spark Racing Team’s Ducati.

Here she is finally trying both a MotoGP and a Superbike, even if only for a day. A thrilling opportunity that came during the World Ducati Week, where Yaakov “shared the stage” with a host of two-wheel aces: from today’s leading riders like Marquez, Bagnaia, Bulega, Baldassarri, and Surra, to legends of the past like Bayliss, Fogarty, Capirossi, Toseland, and Stoner, who watched Yaakov with interest (as seen in the image). The American’s smile, a record-breaking woman for what she’s already achieved despite being just of age, says more than a thousand words.

A record-setting rider, ever deeper into the history books. A career that began in motocross at age 4, but she soon changed course toward road racing: in just a few years came two MiniGP titles; at 9 she was already breaking an early-age record as the youngest American to race on “big bikes.” And she won too, not only beating at just 10 another precocity record previously held by Nicky Hayden, but also securing three titles in three different national amateur championships. At 11 she won four more, plus two AMA Grand National championships and the AMA Rookie of the Year award. Young in age but already great in talent: year after year she kept shining nationally and in AMA championships, bringing home title after title. At 14, still very young, she turned professional and continued to amaze.

In 2021 she set two lap records (at Nelson Ledges and Jennings GP); in 2022 she became the first woman to win a race in MotoAmerica, later tallying four total wins and 11 podiums. The “firsts” keep coming: first woman to take a podium in MotoAmerica Twins Cup, first woman on the podium in MotoAmerica Supersport, and the only woman to stand on the podium in three MotoAmerica classes. Since 2024 she has been tied to Rahal Ducati in the MotoAmerica Supersport Championship and had already contested some races in the Italian series as well. This past March she also became the first woman on the podium at the Daytona 200, beating a former Grand Prix rider like Darryn Binder. Europe has been blind in the past to her successful forays (we discussed it here), but Yaakov cares little: clear-headed and mature, she focuses solely on consistently doing her best.