Who could make it to World Sportbike in 2027? (Part 1)

2026 is hosting the very first season of the FIM Sportbike World Championship, a series that replaced World Supersport 300 with machines that are more powerful and much closer to Supersport in terms of performance.

Such a step happened at world-championship level in 2026, but we have already seen the Sportbike class in action for several years, either as a standalone class or as a one-make series, in various national championships. The first grid in WorldSPB history is indeed made up largely of riders who were already competing in the Supersport 300 World Championship, but it also includes a significant number of riders coming from various national championships and the R3 BLU CRU World Cup.

In this article and the next one, we will look at the riders who could make the move to the Sportbike World Championship in 2027. In Part 2, we will look at riders competing in national championships, but for now, let's start with Part 1 and the R3 BLU CRU World Cup and, very briefly, WorldWCR.

DISCLAIMER: This article contains analysis and considerations based on results and other factors. Therefore, it should not be considered as confirmed news.

Context

Before we begin, let me briefly explain what the R3 BLU CRU World Cup is.

It’s essentially a Yamaha YZF-R3 one make series, which has existed since 2021 and runs alongside WorldSBK at some of its European rounds. In the 2026 season, for example, there are six rounds: Balaton Park, Motorland Aragón, Donington Park, Magny Cours, Cremona and Estoril. The naming of the cup has changed over the years, but it’s enough to mention that it was initially a European Cup, while since 2024 it’s instead got the World Cup status.

The list of the series’ champions includes riders who are competing in World Sportbike or raced in the WorldSSP300. The first winner was Íker García (2025 Stock European Champion and competing in the Moto2 European Championship in 2026), followed by Enzo Valentim, Emiliano Ercolani, Marc Vich and Alessandro Di Persio, with the latter currently competing in the Sportbike World Championship with Arco Motor University Team. All of these riders benefited from the prize reserved for the trophy champion, namely the participation in the next season of previously World Supersport 300 and now World Sportbike, with a rider fully supported by Yamaha. It’s also worth mentioning that Aldi Mahendra emerged from this cup as well, finishing second in 2023 behind Ercolani before becoming Supersport 300 World Champion the following year.

The R3 BLU CRU World Cup is part of SBK Roadway, an initiative similar to Road to MotoGP (although currently less developed). However, the future of the series is not entirely certain, given the gradual discontinuation of Supersport 300 that is happening at both national and international level. For now, though, let's focus on 2026...

The main names

The 2026 season of the FIM R3 BLU CRU World Cup is providing plenty of excitement and close group battles, where the winner is almost always decided on the final lap. And in the three rounds held so far, no real leader has emerged: the top five riders in the standings are separated by just 15 points, while six races have produced five different winners and only Xarly Méndez managed to win more than one race.

Looking through the standings, there are many interesting names. The first is indeed championship leader Xarly Méndez, who, in addition to demonstrating considerable speed over the past two years (he has been competing in the series since 2025), comes from the Dominican Republic and represents a very interesting prospect for the Latin American market as well. Méndez seems to have found the consistency that he was missing in 2025, as the only DNF so far in 2026 was caused by an accident outside of his control (in Race 2 at Donington Park, Takahira ended up wiping Méndez out, after crashing due to a contact with another rider). Something similar can be said for Brazilian Aymon Bocanegra, fourth in the standings and already a race winner and podium finisher in 2025 and again this year. Supported by Yamaha Brasil and having recently turned 16 (the minimum age to compete in WorldSPB), the time seems right for a step up to WorldSPB.

Between leader Méndez and fourth-placed Bocanegra, the standings feature Emanuele Pastore and Angelo Mottola in second and third place respectively, both having one race win same as the Brazilian. Mottola and Pastore share not only Italian nationality and regular appearances at the front in 2026 (with Pastore already doing so in 2025), but also another very important factor: they race for teams that are also present in the Sportbike World Championship, namely Arco Motor University Team and Panattoni BGR Smrz Racing respectively. This, obviously together with a solid set of results, could play a role in a potential promotion to WorldSPB, even without receiving the Yamaha "scholarship" for winning the trophy.

Other riders

Among the interesting young riders for the future, we can also find Chris Clark and Alessandro Binder, both Mottola's teammates at Jakub Smrz's team. Clark has shown great speed on several occasions and has been capable of fighting for podiums and victories, but he has sometimes lacked the extra aggressiveness that is essential in close group battles. As for Binder, the Swiss rider and former Northern Talent Cup podium-finisher is showing promising racing in the R3 BLU CRU World Cup, while also competing in the CIV Supersport Championship with Kuja Racing Ducati, where he is replacing Noah Dettwiler.

Japanese riders such as Riichi Takahira and Rintaro Takemoto also deserve a mention, although they still lack the consistency and “extra something" needed to regularly occupy the very front positions. Takahira, however, already proved his speed by being often in the front group and getting close to the win in Race 1 at Donington Park.

Yamaha Racing is trying to improve its difficult situation in the World Sportbike Championship, where, aside from Carter Thompson's podiums, it is struggling with the gap to the other motorcycles. In the meantime, however, the focus remains on developing young talent.

WorldWCR in brief

To close this article, we can briefly talk about WorldWCR. The Women's Circuit Racing World Championship seems to offer little or nothing in terms of potential moves to the Sportbike World Championship. Most of the riders seem more likely to stay where they are, and this also applies to some of the championship's leading names such as María Herrera and Beatriz Neila. Perhaps Paola Ramos could consider a move to WorldSPB, as she is also continuing to race alongside men in the Spanish Yamaha R7 Cup, and another name could be Yvonne Cerpa. However, both riders should remain in WorldWCR in 2027, also with the aim of taking another step forward in terms of performance.

Photos in the article: Yamaha Racing