SBK, 2026 over for Tarran Mackenzie: the MGM team calls up Loris Baz again

The Scottish rider will not be able to finish the championship due to the injury sustained at Donington: the experienced French colleague will once again be on his Ducati.

Loris Baz will race for the MGM Optical Express team in the upcoming rounds at Estoril and Jerez as well. He had already replaced Tarran Mackenzie at Cremona and will do so again for the final two events of the 2026 Superbike calendar. The Scot is not in condition to return to the saddle of his Panigale V4 R after the injury suffered at Donington Park on July 10.

Mackenzie was involved in a nasty crash at Turn 12 during the second SBK free practice session at the round in England. The impact caused a concussion, as well as fractures to his left collarbone, left shoulder blade, left tibia, and left fibula. He also underwent surgery.

The 2021 BSB Superbike champion had hoped to return to action after the summer break, but at Magny-Cours the MGM team was unable to field either him or another rider, while at Cremona they called up Baz. For the Scotsman the season is over and, as of today, it’s still unclear what the future holds for him and his team, which has yet to confirm its presence on the 2027 grid.

Before the injury, Mackenzie was enjoying a 2026 marked by solid progress. With the new Ducati Panigale V4 he was consistently managing to fight for top-10 finishes. At Donington Park, his home round, he had hoped to get closer to the podium than ever. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.

Michael Galinski’s squad has decided to rely once more on Baz to replace Mackenzie. At Cremona, the 33-year-old Frenchman scored 3 points, finishing fifteenth in Race 1 and fourteenth in Race 2, with a fifteenth place in the Superpole Race in between.

For Baz it was a return, not only because he raced for many years in WorldSBK, but also because he spent the 2022–2023 biennium precisely with the MGM team: back then Galinski had a partnership with BMW and Jürgen Röder’s Bonovo Action. Röder decided to step away at the end of 2024, and in 2025 the MGM team switched to Ducati. We’ll see if they’re still on the grid in 2027; it’s a matter of budget