Motoxracing and Mattia Rato, the romantic fairy tale of modern Superbike

From middle school to university. Normally, those who debut in the Superbike World Championship have a background in MotoGP or the Supersport World Championship. Mattia Rato, however, comes from the CIV SSP. He has never raced at Phillip Island and he practically doesn’t know the Yamaha R1, having done only a few tests during the winter.

Mattia Rato is by far the youngest rider among those in the 2026 Superbike World Championship, a cub among old lions. Sandro Carusi, Team Principal of MotoxRacing, has decided to bet on him. At first glance it may seem risky, but the 21-year-old from Milan has good potential. The essential thing is that he’s allowed to grow calmly and without pressure. Clearly, on the first day of testing no results could be expected, and as predicted he ended up at the back of the field. However, he wasn’t dramatically off the other Yamaha riders—far from it. Moreover, his R1 is a very privateer bike, far from those of the factory teams. Considering his inexperience and the bike, his debut, all things considered, was positive. What’s more, Mattia Rato is a humble, likeable guy, a young rider everyone is fond of, and many are already cheering for him.

"It was a complicated day," Mattia Rato tells Corsedimoto, "not knowing the track made it difficult to adapt to everything. In the morning I focused on understanding the circuit, while in the afternoon we worked a bit on the setup."

Today, the Motoxracing team is perhaps the last bastion of romance left in the Superbike World Championship. They have far fewer resources than other teams and, in theory, are condemned to the last positions—but not necessarily. In Superbike, sometimes even a small team with skilled technicians, great passion, and strong enthusiasm can work miracles and write a new fairy tale. Over the winter, Motoxracing did not take part in the Portimão tests along with the other World Championship teams, so it’s normal that they’re still a bit behind, but the team and Mattia Rato are giving it their all.