Let's get to know Ferre Fleerackers, World Sportbike sensation

During the first two rounds in the history of the FIM Sportbike World Championship, held in Portimão and Assen, we mostly saw in the top positions riders with prior experience on the world stage. Whether they previously raced and won in the Supersport 300 World Championship, like David Salvador and Jeffrey Buis, or they spent a number of years in the MotoGP paddock, like Xavi Artigas, the top spots in both races and the standings are mainly occupied by those who had already competed in world championships in previous years.

Among all these well-known names, however, there is also a new face who stood out both in Portugal and in the Netherlands, notably securing a podium in Race 1 in Portimão and winning Race 2 in Assen in what is “almost” his home round: Ferre Fleerackers. After the first four races, he sits third in the championship with 59 points, behind only his team-mate Buis (64) and championship leader Salvador (69). A fantastic start for the 19-year-old Belgian, as he is already pretty up to speed with the Suzuki GSX-8R lined up by the Track & Trades Wixx Racing team (living its first year in the world championship as well). In 2025, Fleerackers finished second in the British Sportbike series.

Palmen in Motorradsport had the opportunity to interview Ferre Fleerackers at Assen, to talk about the 2026 season and to get to know him and his story.

Ferre, can you tell us about how the 2026 season started?

The season started really good in Portimao, in my first race ever in a world championship. I finished Race 1 on the podium, which I didn't expect at all, and Race 2 was good as well, except for the mistakes I made in the last two laps and dropped me back to P9. In Assen I finished Race 1 in fourth position and even if I didn't make it to the podium, it was a good race. I must say that, overall, so far it's been above my expectations.

And you even won Race 2 in Assen. How did it feel?

It was amazing and, again, I didn't expect that. I learned from Race 1 that I didn't have to be in the front coming into the last lap, so I tried to put myself in a good position, and it worked out. It just felt amazing to do this at my "almost home round" and at the team's home round. Moreover, I finished on the podium together with my team-mate Jeffrey, which feels great as well.

In general, you didn't expect to be so fast.

No, of course I didn't. It was hard to set a goal in front of the season, but I told myself that if I had finished in the top 5 somewhere during the season, I would have been satisfied. Now, instead, I'm there almost every weekend, and this makes me really happy.

And what's your goal for this season now?

I think the main goal is to just continue improving, always be in the front group and try to fight for the podiums every weekend. If the championship goes well, that's fine. If not, I will just take it race by race.

What are the differences between the Aprilia you rode in the British championship and the Suzuki you're riding in the WorldSPB?

The Suzuki has more torque, so it's better at the exit of the corners. However, the regulations are a bit different in the world championship compared to BSB, so the bike now is a bit slower. We're all at like 90 HP and in BSB we had more than 100 HP. In general, the Suzuki is quite similar to the Aprilia, just it's a bit better in terms of torque and handling.

Let's look back at 2025. How was that season?

It was good, even if the beginning was a bit difficult. I finished 8 races out of 15 in fourth place and always very close to the podium, which was a bit hard to swallow...But, still, I can't complain about how 2025 went (he secured one win and three more podium finishes, ed). I wish I could be even closer to Beekmans and fight for the title, but he was just really strong last year. He had the best bike and he just made the very best out of it. Finishing the season in second place was anyway good and I think it was a fundamental step to come here.

Let's now go even further back in time. Can you tell us about how your racing career started?

My stepdad was racing in Belgium and that's how I got into it. However, I wanted to start even before that: my dad raced with motocross. So, I was already in motorcycle racing when I was a little kid.

But you followed a different path from motocross and moved to road racing. Why?

Because my stepdad was doing road racing and when the relationship between him and my mom started, I started to go to the races as well. Then, me and my stepbrother started racing with a pocket bike and from there, it went quite well.

How were your first seasons as a motorcycle racer?

I started with an 85cc KTM Supermoto bike in Belgium. It was good, just learning everything, and then in my second season I already won some races. My first season on a big bike and on big tracks was in 2021, when I did the Yamaha R3 Cup (within the IDM paddock, ed), and then I moved to the IDM Supersport 300. There, I was always in the front group and could fight for podiums, but I never really got that top 3. It sucked a bit, but I was close to it and showed some good speed.

In 2024, you moved to the Northern Talent Cup. Could you please tell about why you made such move, instead of staying in the Supersport 300 or moving to Supersport or Sportbike?

I got such opportunity from the Belgian Federation, so I could race with their team in the Northern Talent Cup, and I accepted since it clearly was a great opportunity. It was my first season in such a professional background, let's say, and there I learnt more about close racing and how to manage things when you are in the front. I think that helped me a lot for the following seasons. I had six podiums out of the 14 races and was always at the front, even though I could never win a race and just got close to it. At the end I finished fourth, and I was one of the riders with the highest number of podiums.

You raced many different motorcycles during the last years: Yamaha R3, Kawasaki Ninja 400, Honda NSF250R, Aprilia RS660, now Suzuki GSX-8R...What's your favorite one out of these?

For sure, my favourite bike is now the Suzuki I ride in the World Sportbike. However, the Honda I rode in the Northern Talent Cup was really fun as well: it's light and with not so much power, so you can kind of do whatever you want with it.

At this stage, what's your goal for the future?

Just to grow. I think every rider's dream is to become the best in World Superbike or MotoGP. But it's a hard path, so I just want to improve every time and from there on we will see where we get.

If you had the chance in the future to move to Supersport or Moto2, what would you pick?

Between Moto2 and Supersport, I think I would prefer to race in the WorldSSP. The road to MotoGP is just really hard and if you don't perform immediately, you're out pretty quickly. The World Supersport route may be not the easiest either, but I think it's the best one.

What are your main hobbies outside motorcycle racing?

To stay fit, I go running and cycling a lot, plus of course some strength training. Besides that, I still go to school and study mechanics. Moreover, when I'm not at school or training, I work at a Ducati dealer near where I live.

Are you interested in any other thing apart from racing?

I follow Formula 1 and also motocross, but I don't follow many sports.

And in conclusion, Ferre, the "Thank You Moment". Who are you especially grateful to?

I want to thank my family, my friends, all my sponsors and of course the team. We all work hard together to get to the results we want, and for now it's going really well. Let's continue like this!

You will consider your racing career as complete when...?

When I become a Superbike World Champion.

Palmen in Motorradsport thanks Ferre Fleerackers for his time and Wiljan van Wikselaar (Track & Trades Wixx Racing Team Manager) for making the interview possible. Best wishes to both the rider and the team for the next races and seasons.