Yari Montella: Working on himself, to reach the top in WorldSBK

Behind already crowned World Champion Nicolò Bulega and Iker Lecuona, who has now proven he can win races, the 2026 FIM Superbike World Championship is showcasing some more prominent names, and one of them is definitely Yari Montella.

In his second year in WorldSBK, Montella has made a huge step forward compared to his rookie season, securing no fewer than 14 podium finishes across the ten rounds held so far, from Phillip Island to Cremona. After all, he has been a strong player on the international scene since becoming Moto2 European Champion in 2020. That marked the beginning of an even more significant journey, which has brought him to where he is today, as one of the leading WorldSBK riders with the Barni Spark Racing Team, with whom he is fighting for third place in the championship standings.

Palmen in Motorradsport had the opportunity to interview Yari Montella, to discuss both the 2026 season and his career in general. It was a long and enjoyable conversation, which also touched the many lessons learned by the rider born in 2000 in Oliveto Citra (a small town 50 kilometres away from Salerno).

Yari, did you expect the 2026 season to go like this?

No. Considering how my first year in World Superbike had been, I would never have expected a season like this, being completely the opposite of the previous year. In 2025, I was an inconsistent rider who crashed often and wasn't particularly fast, while in 2026 I have been consistent, I've had very few crashes and I am fighting for third place in the championship. The goal was to make steps forward compared to last year, of course, but we didn't expect such a huge jump.

We did a good job in making sure that we were prepared, and we are managing the season in the right way. There's a good atmosphere in the garage and within the team, and I feel relaxed, also because we will be working together for another year (Montella and the tam have already renewed their agreement for 2027, ed). Now I can focus exclusively on giving my best on track, and I want to continue enjoying every moment with my team.

From all the podiums you have achieved in 2026, is any of them particularly meaningful to you?

I would say the first one in Australia, which came straight away in Race 1 at the opening round of the season. I would also mention the second place in the Superpole Race at Donington Park, because we were very close to Nicolò Bulega. Third place in Race 2 in Hungary was also special: in 2025, we had a disastrous weekend at Balaton Park, so it was great to stand on the podium at that circuit. I was able to put some old setbacks behind me.

What's the main change compared to 2025?

The team is the same, the bike has changed, but that applies to all Ducati riders...The biggest change is in myself! What's changed most is how I approach races. During the winter, I worked hard with my team, my trainers and my psychologist to analyse the mistakes I made last year. And that work has been paying off.

How did you deal with the difficulties and mistakes of 2025?

It wasn't easy. At the beginning, we actually had a quite good start, as we were in the top 10. I made mistakes, but that was understandable given that I was a rookie. The problem was that, as the year went on, those mistakes became more frequent and repetitive, to the point that towards the end it felt as I had entered a tunnel with no way out. I kept thinking about not making mistakes, only to end up making another one. I will not hide that the final races were quite challenging mentally.

I had reached a point where my position in the team was more and more uncertain, because making the same mistakes so many times also causes you to lose credibility within the team and in the eyes of sponsors. However, the team always wanted to help me and give me the best possible conditions, and this applies especially to "Barni" (Marco Barnabò, team owner, ed.). "Barni" saw that I was eager to bounce back and make a major change. As I said earlier, I proactively worked to analyse myself and improve. And now we are here, fighting for something big.

At this point in your career, what are your short-term and long-term goals?

Right now, my clear goal is to finish third in the championship. I also have some personal goals, namely to get closer and closer to the leading riders and be able to fight alongside them in some races. Looking further ahead, I want to win many World Championship titles, and I am working to become that kind of rider and put myself in a position to achieve that goal. In the meantime, I will keep working with everyone who supports me, moving all together in the same direction.

Looking back at the past, let me ask you a question: how did you end up racing motorcycles?

My father was a racing fan, a typical amateur who used to ride his motorcycle around karting circuits on Sundays. And I was the typical son of a motorsport enthusiast, accompanying him and helping him prepare the bike and all the equipment. One day, he told me: "Since I am going to the track for myself anyway, let's buy you a small bike, so you can come and have fun too".  And that's how it all started, when I was 11. For the first two years, I rode a MiniGP, simply trying to enjoy myself. Then, in 2013, I did my first full season and it was in the Italian CIV Championship, in the Sport 4T category (which later became Supersport 300 ed). I was racing a Kawasaki Ninja 300 machine.

What can you say about those years? And how did you get the opportunity to move to Moto3?

I was progressing very quickly. I lived the first race of my life directly at Misano, at the age of 13, against riders who, at the same age as me, already had years of experience with minimotos, MiniGP and PreMoto3. At that point, I was not aiming to reach Superbike or MotoGP at all. I just wanted to have fun. But then that enjoyment turned into something serious, and I started putting all the advice I received into practice. In 2014, in my second year of racing, I became Italian Champion (again in the Sport 4T category, ed).

After that title, in 2015, we decided to move to prototypes. The next step from my category would have been the 600cc, but I was only 14 or 15 at the time, and we didn't feel ready to move to bigger bikes. So we chose to move to Moto3 with Paolo Simoncelli's Sic58 Squadra Corse team. We initially raced in the CIV, before moving to the Moto3 Junior World Championship.

What are your main memories of your time with Sic58?

I remember many great races in the CIV, in the year when riders such as Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Alessandro Delbianco were there. I also think about my first experiences in Spain, where I raced against riders such as Jaume Masiá, Alonso López and other guys who are now in the MotoGP World Championship or in WorldSBK. However, I also went through some difficult moments, especially in 2018. I had spent many years racing Moto3 in both the CIV and CEV, always with Simoncelli, but the results were not coming.

I had lost some confidence in myself and I even started thinking that perhaps I wasn't as strong as I had believed. I had the opportunity to return to Supersport 300, in the World Championship, but I didn't like the idea of going back on those bikes. In the end, we decided to give it a try in the Moto2 European Championship, hoping to get my career back on track. And we made it. It was a difficult time, but we managed to turn all that negativity into something positive.

And once you moved to Moto2, you were immediately fast.

It was a gamble that paid off. Moto3 was getting a bit too little for me. I had grown and reached a weight of 60 to 65 kilos, and I was racing against kids who weighed much less than me. In a category like that, such a difference makes a big impact, and at that point we realised it was better to make a change and move to the Moto2 European Championship.

It turned out to be the right decision, because I was able to adapt immediately to more power and bigger bikes. The first year was already a positive one, with a pole position in Barcelona and a couple of podium finishes. Then, in 2020, we managed to win the title together with Team Ciatti, bringing my name to the attention of many people who didn't know me.

That title also helped me secure a contract for the Moto2 World Championship with the Speed Up team. But things didn't go to plan there...

Do you ever think back to that year in the Moto2 World Championship, and the struggles you experienced?

Not anymore, but at the time it was one more tough pill to swallow. I was coming off the European Championship title, and it seemed that things were finally working again. However, once I reached the World Championship, I encountered major difficulties, eventually finding myself without a ride and having to move to Supersport to relaunch my career. In the past, I used to think about it and even had some regrets, also regarding Luca Boscoscuro. But not anymore, because fortunately I managed to overcome those difficulties and build my own path and career. In fact, I could even thank him, because that experience taught me that I can go through difficult times and move forward. Today, I have no regrets or resentment towards Luca Boscoscuro, nor about how that year unfolded.

You then found again motivation and desire to dream, in the FIM Supersport World Championship. What can you say about your three years in WorldSSP?

I rebuilt my career. The first year, with the Puccetti team and Kawasaki, was difficult because I struggled to adapt to the bike. Towards the end, however, I started to understand the Ninja machine and get to know it better, and I achieved some great results (including a victory at Phillip Island, ed) during the final part of the season. Tthe steps I made during the final part of the championship convinced the Barni Racing Team to sign me. With them, I raced for two years in World Supersport and now we are competing in World Superbike.

What are your best memories from WorldSSP?

The victory at Magny-Cours in 2024 (in Race 2, ed.). We were not the main candidates for the win, but we came out on top thanks to excellent race management. I also remember the entire 2024 season in general. We were competitive throughout the year and even fought for the title against Adrián Huertas. Unfortunately, a few mistakes left us third in the standings (behind Huertas and Stefano Manzi, ed). I feel disappointed when I think about it, but that's part of racing, and as always, I used my mistakes as an opportunity to improve.

At this point, what do you feel you still need to improve to fight for victories regularly?

Avoiding mistakes, being more consistent and getting as close as possible to the limit while not risking too much. These are things that I am trying to bring together, both as a rider and with the help of my team. We are an independent team, but we have the same determination as a factory team, because we are not lacking anything in comparison with them. I am very happy and proud of the work we are doing.

In conclusion, the "Thank You Moment".

I would like to thank all the people who were there for me in the past and are still here today, starting with my family, my sponsors and the people who work or used to work with me. I also want to extend my gratitude to everyone who has helped me and will continue to help me along my journey, without leaving anyone out.

Palmen in Motorradsport is thankful to Yari Montella for his time and to Silvia Redaelli (Barni Spark Racing Team) for making this interview possible. Best wishes to both the rider and the team for the upcoming races and seasons.