Alberto Surra: "WorldSBK? The best choice for my growth"

For the 2026 season, the FIM Superbike World Championship welcomed into its field a young Italian rider who, after several seasons in the MotoGP and JuniorGP paddocks and some excellent races (including a third place at Magny Cours and two other top five finishes) in the Supersport World Championship, is now taking on this new challenge in WorldSBK: Alberto Surra.

Born in 2004, Surra is experiencing his first season on a 1000cc bike with the Ducati of the Motocorsa Racing Team. The youngster from Turin approached this challenge in a humble way, but he has already achieved very positive results for a rookie in his position: 9th place in Race 1 at Phillip Island, additional points finishes in Portimão and Assen and a very positive weekend at Balaton Park, where Surra finished all three races in 8th, 6th and 7th position. There is still work to do to reach the leading group, but Surra and the squad owned by Lorenzo Mauri are working hard to improve step by step.

Palmen in Motorradsport had the chance to interview Alberto Surra during the Dutch round in Assen, before the triple top ten he later achieved in Hungary. Together we talked about the 2026 campaign, his previous seasons and more.

Alberto, how do you like racing in the WorldSBK?

I like it a lot. It's a new experience, even though I already knew this paddock after the races I did in Supersport with the Evan Bros Racing Team (when he replaced injured Aldi Mahendra during the final part of the season, ed). I got the opportunity to race here with the Motocorsa Racing Team and Ducati and it's apparently going very well. It's still a very difficult challenge, because I am racing against the strongest riders in the world and, unlike them, we are unexperienced. We need to improve step by step and gain experience.

Despite all the difficulties, you started with a top 10 finish in Australia. Did you expect that?

No, but I worked amazingly with the team and I also felt very calm and without much pressure. Then I went to Portimão, which was a track where I had already raced several times in the Moto2 European Championship, and there I struggled a lot due to still riding with a rather Moto2-like riding style. However, if we look at the lap time, the gap to the front still decreased. The problem is that everyone is very close, so it only takes a little to be far back in the standings

What's your goal for your first season in the WorldSBK?

For now I aim to score points regularly, but I think we have the potential to comfortably be in the top ten positions. We just need to stay calm, try to make as few mistakes as possible and learn. The bike is very competitive, the cooperation with my team is fine and the atmosphere is great. But we have to work both at home and on track to be ready and to consistently achieve our goal.

Let’s now go through the races you had in World Supersport in 2025. Did you expect to be immediately so fast, and even get on the podium?

Yes, because I had the potential to be at the front and I already knew many members of the Evan Bros Racing Team, which certainly helped me significantly. We had some issues, because the Yamaha R9 is competitive but also a particular "road-based" machine, but the team did a perfect job in that case as well and I felt part of a big family. The results came immediately, because we had the right approach from the very beginning.

Before talking about certain stages of your career, would you like to share how your passion for motorcycle racing started?

My grandfather raced with a MI-VAL 175 and with it he competed in the so called "Wall of Death" races, where you had to get some speed to ride on cylinder bankings. He has always been a big fan of motorcycles and the same goes for my father and my five uncles, who all ride motorcycles. They never competed at a high level, and in fact I am the first in my family having achieved it, but they have always supported and put up with me. My father, in particular, often had to take time off from work to follow me when I raced in the world championship and also in the Italian CIV Championship, and my uncles gave a big helping hand to me and my father.

My first steps on a motorbike happened in a parking lot in Moncalieri, near my home, with a Chinese pocket bike. Then I went to a circuit for the first time and from there I began my progression, initially at a beginner level and then in interregional races and in the Italian SAV series. Then, I moved straight to the MiniGP 50 class, to the Metrakit trophy and then to the CIV PreMoto3 with the Speed Up team.

When it comes to CIV, it's easy to remember your 2019 campaign in the Moto3 class where, as a rookie, you managed to be in the top positions on a Mahindra bike, which was far behind compared to the other bikes.

That year, I actually raced in Moto3 thanks to a waiver, since at the beginning of the season I was still 14 years old. In any case, I raced with a Mahindra from 2014, namely the one used at the time by Miguel Oliveira, and it was an incredible year. Then my teammate, Thomas Rossi, left the team and so they gave me his bike, which was a 2018-spec KTM used in the Moto3 World Championship by Marco Bezzecchi. Overall those two years were wonderful, because they helped me grow a lot and put me in the spotlight, until I was noticed by the VR46 Riders Academy (whose he was a member in 2021 and 2022, ed).

And, halfway through 2021, you made your debut in the Moto3 World Championship.

Yes, because the Snipers Team called me to replace Filip Salac (who moved to the PrüstelGP team, as he replaced late Jason Dupasquier, ed). We did that half season and then the whole 2022 season together. However, those were quite difficult years, because I had grown a lot physically and I still didn't have the professional mindset I have now. I was still a kid, let’s say. I had some difficulties and they were very tough years (in 2022 he missed nine races out of 20 due to injuries, and he was twice 17th as best result, ed). Maybe, at that stage, I wasn't in the right environment to grow and as a result I did not have the same breakthrough I had in the CIV. I still grew a lot, also thanks to many other people who helped me.

Then you moved to Moto2 in 2023, with some seasons in the European Championship and a few races in the World Championship.

After Moto3, my father told me: “If you do not want to continue racing, the start working as a bricklayer.” From that moment, I understood that maybe it was better to keep racing, and as a result I committed myself more than ever to become a professional rider. Right away, in the Moto2 European Championship, I was competitive with Boscoscuro and Team Ciatti, whom I thank very much, and in my first year I was fighting in some races with Senna Agius, who is now a race winner in the world championship. I also had the opportunity to move up to the Moto2 World Championship myself, but some things did not work out. I was still able to do some races, also thanks to the Forward Racing Team. After 2025, with a good season together with the AndiFer team in the European Championship, and the races I did in World Supersport, I got to the WorldSBK with the best possible opportunity for me.

At the moment, are you aiming to build a career in the WorldSBK, or are you still thinking about MotoGP?

It's fair to consider any opportunity, but right now I am super focused on my first year on a Superbike and I want to learn how to ride this bike and take it as far as possible. The team deserves it: they are working very hard and the bike is very competitive. In fact, when I decided to come here, I wasn't thinking of winning the world championship now or in 2027, but I just considered the stage of my growth I am facing now. I aim to build the experience I need to manage everything in the best way, which is something I did not have when I was 16 or 17.

In Superbike, you are also racing with very strong and experienced riders, such as Álvaro Bautista or, at Portimão and Assen, Jonathan Rea. Is there anything in particular you have learned from them?

Every time, you always learn something new. For example, at Phillip Island I started ahead of Bautista, Iker Lecuona and Danilo Petrucci. But if you qualify ahead of them, it does not mean you are stronger than they are. For that to happen, many things have to come together. In any case, regarding your question, by following these riders I am learning many things, that maybe you cannot really absorb just by watching them on TV or hearing about them. When I am behind someone and I see their riding style, I always try to take any thing that can help me improve. I think that, in the end, they have two legs and two arms like me, and even if they have more experience and I am young, by finding the right path and gaining experience I can try to beat them.

Apart from motorcycles, do you have any other interest in particular?

I like spending time with my friends and doing many sports, still related to motorcycles: motocross, flat track, supermotard. I also like skiing and going to the beach, and in general I have many hobbies related to sports. For me, sports are not just a way to prepare for races, but an actual lifestyle that I love and that doesn't feel like a burden at all.

To conclude, here is the “Thank You Moment”: would you like to thank someone in particular?

One of the most important people, who has always been by my side, is definitely my father: he took me back to the top during a very difficult moment, and if I am here it's also thanks to him. So, I thank my father and then all my sponsors, who have always helped and supported me. With them, we now have real friendship and this goes beyond "simple" sponsorship. I also thank all of my friends, who have always helped me and still do, and my coach, who is giving me huge support this year. Those are the people who see both my good side and my bad side, both the happy moments and the times when I am angry, and who always stay by my side regardless of the situation.

I also thank every team that supported me up to now, because I have always been on very good terms with everyone and I am still in touch with them, including those I raced with more than ten years ago. Finally, I thank the Motocorsa Racing Team, because they are giving me great support during this phase of growth. Lorenzo (Mauri, Team Owner, ed) is proving to be a really good person who gives his 120% in everything, even though he had been described to me as quite blunt. If he doesn't see me giving my 100%, he gets angry, but that's totally right. I am really happy to be here and I want to do my best with and for them.

Palmen in Motorradsport thanks Alberto Surra for his availability and Silvia Colombo (Motocorsa Racing Team Press Officer) for organizing the interview. Sending best wishes to the rider and the team for the upcoming races and seasons.