From Oliveira to Manzi: who are the 2026 SBK rookies looking to impress

Let’s take a look at the riders set to debut on the 2026 World Superbike grid: who will be the fastest?

The provisional entry lists for Superbike, Supersport, and Sportbike have recently been published, confirming the names that will be on the grid in 2026. Aside from the surprise of Andrea Iannone, registered with the Cainam Racing Team, everything else went as expected. In SBK there will be 6 rookies out of a total of 22 riders—let’s see who they are.

Among the newcomers, the one with the biggest name and the highest expectations is certainly Miguel Oliveira. After years in MotoGP riding KTM, Aprilia, and Yamaha, he’s ready to take on a completely new challenge. Even though he would have liked to remain in the premier class, he’s determined to make a strong impression in the production-derived championship. He will race for the ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK team, a high-level structure aiming to put both him and Danilo Petrucci in the best possible conditions to win.

The M 1000 RR has been carried to glory by Toprak Razgatlioglu over the past two years, so there’s curiosity to see what riders like Oliveira and Petrucci can achieve. The Turk is a phenomenon, someone who has proven to be fast on every bike he’s ridden in World Superbike; it won’t be easy to pick up his baton. The new BMW pairing had the chance to test the new bike at Jerez, but they weren’t allowed to make statements. In any case, there’s confidence we’ll see them competitive in 2026.

After the possibility of signing Razgatlioglu faded—he preferred to test himself in MotoGP and will join the Prima Pramac Yamaha team alongside another rider considered by Honda, Jack Miller—HRC decided to bring in two more rookies from the Grand Prix paddock: Jake Dixon and Somkiat Chantra. It already happened in 2022, when Xavi Vierge and Iker Lecuona arrived from Moto2 and MotoGP; in 2026 they will race with Pata Maxus Yamaha and Aruba Ducati respectively.

Dixon was a constant presence in Moto2 from 2019 to 2025, with two MotoGP appearances in 2021 (Silverstone and Aragon replacing the injured Franco Morbidelli with the Petronas Yamaha team). In the most recent championship he finished fifth overall, with his best final standing being fourth in 2023. Racing for a factory SBK team is certainly exciting, even if the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP isn’t the best bike on the grid.

The British rider rode it during the Jerez test, where Chantra also made his debut with the HRC team. The Thai rider is coming off a fairly anonymous rookie MotoGP year with LCR, where he’ll be replaced by Diogo Moreira. He will try to show he can be a solid rider for the World Superbike Championship.

The GYTR GRT Yamaha team has confirmed Remy Gardner, but in 2026 the squad’s other R1, run by Filippo Conti, will be ridden by Stefano Manzi. The 26-year-old from Rimini was crowned Supersport world champion in 2025 and earned the step up. In the very first tests he made a good impression, though it’s clearly too early to predict what he’ll achieve in the new class.

Manzi will be a rookie to keep an eye on. He did well in Supersport in his first year with Triumph and was strong with Yamaha as well. He knows perfectly well that he has a lot to learn and shouldn’t rush things, but he also has the ambition to prove he can be competitive right from his debut SBK season.

The last rider announced for the 2026 Championship was Alberto Surra, who will ride the Ducati Panigale V4 R for the Motocorsa team in 2026. Lorenzo Mauri’s squad decided to change course after a season with Ryan Vickers, who returned to BSB, and to bet on the 21-year-old from Turin. Surra performed well in Supersport over the last four rounds of 2025, when he was called up to replace the injured Aldi Satya Mahendra at the Evan Bros Yamaha team. He hopes to spring a surprise in Superbike as well.

Another Italian rookie is Mattia Rato, signed by the Yamaha Motoxracing team to replace Michael Ruben Rinaldi. Sandro Carusi’s team has struggled in recent years, and for the 20-year-old born in Monza, the first WorldSBK season could prove very challenging. Being young, he will have a lot to learn and will need to adapt quickly to new things while not getting discouraged during tough times. The same goes for the aforementioned Surra.

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