The New Faces of World Sportbike (Part 2)

In the first article of this series, we saw six riders who will take part in the very first season of the Sportbike World Championship, but never raced (or contested only one or two rounds) in the WorldSSP300: Alessandro Di Persio, Arai Agaska, Álvaro Fuertes, Harrison Dessoy, Taiyo Aksu and Julian Correa.

Now, let's go through the second part and find out more on the following six riders as well.

Xavi Artigas

A familair name for many motorcycle racing fans, in 2019 he stunned everyone when, on his debut in the Moto3 World Championship as a wildcard, he reached the podium in Valencia.

In 2020, Artigas fought for the Moto3 Junior World Championship title with Izan Guevara and Pedro Acosta and the three Spaniards then moved to the Moto3 World Championship in 2021. But while Acosta and Guevara both became Moto3 World Champions in 2021 and 2022, Artigas struggled much more with inconsistent performances and races below expectations. In Moto3 WC, he achieved only one victory in Valencia in 2021 with the Leopard team and one podium in 2023 with the CFMoto PrüstelGP team.

In 2024 Artigas was supposed to race again with the CFMoto PrüstelGP team, but the the German team closed down due to lack of funds and Artigas therefore had to look for another seat, which he found in the Moto2 World Championship with the KLINT Forward Factory team. However, things did not go well, because the Spanish rider was always at the back and the only highlight was a sixth place in Motegi, also thanks to a right tyre choice in difficult conditions.

In 2025 Artigas was initially supposed to relaunch his career in the Moto2 European Championship with the Precanos Racing Team, but once again the team closed down and this forced him to look for another seat, which he found in the Italian CIV Supersport Championship under the Black Flag Motorsport outfit (and as test rider for Bimota in the Superbike World Championship). Artigas became a Kawasaki rider, and in the Italian championship he fought for the title until the end with Luca Ottaviani, while also developing the Ninja 636 machine within the CIV. In addition, he also competed in several races of WorldSSP as a wildcard or as a replacement rider.

In 2026, Artigas will face a double commitment: Endurance World Championship with Bolliger Team and Sportbike World Championship with the Ninja 636 of the MTM Kawasaki Team, where he will partner Loris Veneman and for whom he served as coach in 2025 in WorldSSP300.

Mattia Sorrenti

Sorrenti is a rider who has been getting more and more attention in the Italian motorcycle racing scene, as he won two Supersport 300 titles in the Trofei MES series and then, in 2023, he achieved several top 10 finishes in the Italian CIV Supersport 300 Championship.

In 2024, Sorrenti competed in the Trofeo Aprilia RS660 Cup and there he fought for the title with Filippo Bianchi until the end, to finally finish second just nine points behind his rival and with three wins and five second places in his pockets. In 2025, he raced in the Italian CIV Sportbike Championship with the Aprilia of the Revo/Nuova M2 Racing team, and there he took four victories and five further podium finishes in 13 races. With these results, he challenged the much more experienced Bruno Ieraci on several occasions, and he finally ranked second overall behind him.

In 2026, again with the Revo/Nuova M2 Racing team and on an Aprilia machine, Sorrenti will compete in the Sportbike World Championship alongside Matteo Vannucci, who already has solid experience on the world stage thanks to several seasons, podium finishes and victories in the Supersport 300 World Championship.

Gabin Cazard

Cazard, whom I have already talked about here, will make his debut in a world championship as well, and he will make this step after making constant progress in the French FSBK championship, first in the Supersport 300 class and then on a Supersport machine.

In 2025, he experienced a quite unusual season. Cazard not only continued to race in Supersport, but he took part in the French Yamaha R7 Cup as well, and he therefore faced four races at every round. In the same year, he achieved his best results in Supersport, with also one win, and he won and completely dominated the R7 Cup.

This brought Cazard to the attention of Yamaha and the MS Racing Team, Spanish team that has signed him for this year’s Sportbike World Championship. Cazard will be the team-mate of Humberto Maier, and he will also compete in the Spanish ESBK championship.

Kas Beekmans

Beekmans is a Dutch rider who first stood out in his home country and then also in the German IDM Championship, first in Supersport 300 with several top 10 finishes (2023) and then in Supersport with more top 10 results and two fourth places (2024).

In 2025, after this experience in the IDM on a Yamaha with Team Apreco, Beekmans moved to the National Sportbike Championship in Great Britain to ride the Suzuki machine of the VLR Racing team, run by Kevin van Leuven and Tasia Rodink. Beekmans won seven races and took six second places out of 15 races in total, and he eventually became the 2025 British Sportbike Champion.

In 2026 Beekmans and the VLR Racing Team will step up together to the Sportbike World Championship, again on a Suzuki GSX-8R machine.

Ferre Fleerackers

Fleerackers has often changed class and championship for a few years, but he has always managed to stand out. In 2023 he achieved several top 5 finishes in the IDM Supersport 300 championship, while in 2024 he reached the podium several times in the Northern Talent Cup.

In 2025 the Belgian rider moved to his third category in three years by stepping up to the British Sportbike series. Fleerackers took several podium finishes, managed to win on a few occasions and finished second in the standings behind previously mentioned Kas Beekmans. Fleerackers rode an Aprilia bike, lined up by the B.ART Racing Team.

Fleerackers will now tackle his first world championship season with the Suzuki of the Track & Trades Wixx Racing Team, a Dutch team run by Wiljan van Wikselaar that will make its first season on the world stage as well. Fleerackers will ride alongside twice Supersport 300 World Champion Jeffrey Buis.

Thomas Benetti

With 16 years of age, Benetti will be the youngest rider on the 2026 Sportbike World Championship field.

In 2024 he won the Aprilia Sport Production title in the Italian CIV Junior, and in 2025 he showed clear progress and took a podium in the Italian Yamaha R3 Cup. However, in 2025 Benetti really stood out above all in the last two rounds of the Trofeo Aprilia RS 660 Cup. Right from the start, on a completely new bike and in a new championship for him, he immediately took pole position, podium finishes and even victories. These results surprised everyone, above all the team that had given him that opportunity.

Massimiliano Morlacchi, owner of Team MMR, was so impressed that he even offered Benetti the chance to go straight into the Sportbike World Championship, even without doing a full season in the Italian CIV Championship first. It definitely is a big step, but “dark horse” Benetti will face it with all the potential he has shown recently. His teammate will be Greek rider Ioannis Peristeras, who raced in the Supersport 300 World Championship in 2022 and 2023.