The New Faces of World Sportbike (Part 1)
From the 27th to the 29th of March 2026, the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve circuit in Portimão will host the second round of the season for the Superbike and Supersport World Championships, plus the start of the third season in the history of the WorldWCR (Women's Circuit Racing World Championship). But, most importantly, the Portuguese venue will kickstart the very first season of the Sportbike World Championship, series replacing the Supersport 300 World Championship from this season onwards.
The WorldSPB entry list will includes 33 riders for the entire season, plus one wildcard entry at each event. Out of these 33 riders, 21 previously competed in the Supersport 300 World Championship, while the remaining 12 come either from different series, or from national championships or from the R3 bLU cRU World Cup, Yamaha one-make series that has raced alongside the Superbike World Championship since 2021.
These 12 "new faces" are what we are focusing on in two articles. Here is Part 1.
Alessandro Di Persio
Alessandro Di Persio has emerged strongly in recent years in the racing scene, especially because in 2025 he dominated the R3 bLU cRU World Cup.
In the past, Di Persio had tried to pursue the path towards the MotoGP World Championship, also by racing in the PreMoto3 class of the Italian championship, but due to financial constraints and also limited results he decided to take a different direction. The choice definitely paid off: the rider from the Abruzzi region won the Italian Yamaha R3 Cup with the Roc ’n DeA team (run by Massimo Roccoli and Alex De Angelis) in 2023, before moving to the World Cup with AG Motorsport Italia in 2024. That first season at international level was very important for Di Persio, who achieved one victory and finished third overall in his debut year in the series.
However, this was only a "preview" of what came next. In 2025, Di Persio scored seven wins and four second places in 12 races, an impressive run that allowed him to secure the title with still a few races to go. As a result, he also earned the prize awarded to the R3 bLU cRU World Cup champion: the participation in the 2026 Sportbike World Championship with full support by Yamaha Racing.
Di Persio will make this step up to the Sportbike World Championship with the same team that carried him to victory in 2025, the Arco Motor University Team. With this team, Di Persio also competed in 2025 in the Supersport 300 World Championship round at Assen, where he finished 15th (and therefore immediately in the points) in Race 1.
Arai Agaska
Arai Agaska is a young Indonesian rider, who developed his career in his home country before moving to the Asia Road Racing Championship in 2024. In the Asia Production 250 class (similar, though not identical, to Supersport 300), Agaska achieved several podium finishes in 2024 and ended the season fourth overall. These results convinced Yamaha Indonesia to bring him to Europe and enter him in the R3 bLU cRU World Cup in 2025.
In his first season in Europe, Agaska immediately showed strong potential: he won one race, regularly fought for podiums and victories, and finished the year second overall, behind Alessandro Di Persio. In 2025, the Indonesian rider also competed in two rounds of the Supersport 300 World Championship (Magny-Cours and Jerez) with the ProGP NitiRacing team, with whom he also managed to score points.
Agaska will race in the Sportbike World Championship on a Yamaha, and he will be lined up again by ProGP NitiRacing, a team created a few years ago from the union of ProGP (founded by Omar Menghi) and the Indonesian squad NitiRacing.
Álvaro Fuertes
I already wrote an article about him in December 2025, but his story can also be summarized here starting with the fact that Álvaro Fuertes is the son of Sergio Fuertes, a former rider who also competed in the Superbike World Championship in 2003 and 2004.
Álvaro Fuertes initially tried to follow the path toward the MotoGP World Championship, even becoming Spanish PreMoto3 Champion in 2021. After a very difficult season in the European Talent Cup, however, he switched to the 600cc machines, starting in the Spanish Yamaha R6 Cup before moving to the ESBK Supersport series. In 2024 he achieved several podium finishes and fifth place overall in ESBK Supersport. In 2025, he competed in the European Stock Championship (within what is now called MotoJunior European Championship) and, riding a Yamaha for Lodisná Team Torrentó, he also scored a podium in Misano.
For 2026, Fuertes has accepted the new challenge of the Sportbike World Championship, and he will take on this new experience on the Kawasaki machine prepared by Box 77 Team, a Spanish squad that has been present in the Superbike World Championship paddock for several years. In the past seasons, the team achieved podium finishes in the Supersport 300 World Championship with José Manuel Osuna, who is now Fuertes’ teammate.
Harrison Dessoy
Harrison Dessoy is a young British rider who also initially tried to pursue a path toward the MotoGP World Championship, eventually racing in and even winning two races in the British Talent Cup.
Dessoy was unable to find opportunities that would bring him closer to the premier prototype motorcycle championship, so in 2024 he moved to the Sportbike class within the British Superbike Championship. Dessoy gradually made a name for himself with several top-five finishes and also some podiums, and in 2025 he went on to win two races in the Sportbike category. Also in 2025, the British rider began collaborating with PHR Performance, the team of experienced British Superbike and road racing rider Peter Hickman.
It's again with PHR Performance that Dessoy will compete in the 2026 Sportbike World Championship, riding a Triumph machine. Alongside him will be fellow Brit Fenton Seabright, who previously competed in the Supersport 300 World Championship.
Taiyo Aksu
Taiyo Aksu is an Australian rider with Japanese origins, who has stood out in recent years starting from the Australian Australian Superbike Championship. In 2022 he achieved podiums and victories in both the Supersport 300 class and the Yamaha R3 Cup, while in 2023 he competed in the JP250 class of the All Japan Road Race Championship.
2024 brought an important turning point to him, as Aksu moved to Europe and made his debut in the Spanish ESBK Superstock 600 championship. Aksu gradually improved with the Yamaha of the Arco Motor University Team, and in 2025 he achieved several podiums, one victory and fourth place overall, again in the Spanish Superstock 600. In addition, he scored points multiple times during the season in the overall standings, since in the ESBK we see the Superstock 600 class race together with Supersport (besides having own standings, its riders also score points within the Supersport class).
Aksu will compete in the Sportbike World Championship with a Yamaha from AG Motorsport Italia, an experienced team that also achieved podiums and victories in the Supersport 300 World Championship with Matteo Vannucci.
Julian Correa
Julian Alessandro Correa (this is his full name) is an American rider who initially emerged in regional and national championships in the United States before moving to the British Talent Cup, first with wildcard appearances and then from 2022 as a full-time entry.
Correa competed in the British Talent Cup for four seasons, regularly achieving podiums and also some victories. In particular, in 2024 he secured podiums, wins and fourth place overall (just a few points away from the top three) despite the passing, midway through the season, of the owner of the team he was racing for. This led to the team stopping its activity and forced him to borrow equipment in order to continue competing.
The 2025 season was a little more difficult for him, but in the meantime Correa also explored other "shores" by beginning to race in ESBK Supersport 300 with Pons Motorsport Italika. Together with the Spanish team, Correa achieved several top ten finishes, most notably within the top seven.
Correa managed to convince Arnau Pons to give him a chance and field him for the entire 2026 Sportbike World Championship, riding a Kawasaki alongside Juan Risueño.
