UFACTURERS
Honda HRC, naturally enough, is the lead team campaigning the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade once again, this year with an all-new riding line-up of ex-GP paddock regulars, Somkiat Chantra and Jake Dixon. They hope that this pairing, and occasional wild card rider and regular team tester, Jonathan Rea, will get them back at least race-winning ways. The Honda has a powerful engine and with some backroom changes in 2026, the rest of the bike may well end up matching its strong engine performance. There will also be CBR600RR machines entered in WorldSSP once again.
Honda CBR 1000RR, Honda CBR 600RR
Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636
Present in: WorldSBK, WorldSSP
In not-so-distant times, Kawasaki was the manufacturer to beat if you wanted to win any of the major championships in the WorldSBK category. The long-established and highly respected Puccetti Racing took over the mantle of the official Kawasaki WorldSBK squad in 2025 and has boosted some areas of performance for 2026. It now runs just one rider on the Ninja ZX-10RR factory machine. It has, however, expanded its WorldSSP ambitions by fielding two WorldSSP riders on the Ninja ZX-6R 636, and will also field a different spec of the same machine inside the all-new WorldSPB class.
Present in: WorldSBK, WorldSSP, WorldSPB
WorldSBK MANUFACTURERS
The unconventional four-cylinder cross-plane R1 model will power the full factory Maxus Pata Yamaha entry at the top end of WorldSBK once again in 2026. A new riding partner for Andrea Locatelli appears for his first WorldSBK season- Stefano Manzi. There will also be strong WorldSSP entries on the championship-winning R9 three-cylinder machine, which only made its competitive debut last year. Yamaha will also be a founding member of the new WorldSPB class, albeit with a different spec of R7 machine from the one that once again powers every rider in the WorldWCR Championship.
Yamaha YZF R1, Yamaha YZF R9, Yamaha YZF R7, Yamaha YZF R7
Present in: WorldSBK, WorldSSP, WorldSPB, WorldWCR
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