Two-time WorldSBK champion Alvaro Bautista has agreed to join Barni Spark Racing for the 2026 campaign.

The Spaniard will leave the factory Ducati outfit for a second time after it decided to replace him with fellow countryman Iker Lecuona.

Bautista’s future in WorldSBK had been uncertain since Ducati chose not to exercise the second year of his 1+1 contract.

After reported talks with six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea fell through, Barni Spark presented a deal with the 40-year-old.

Bautista’s extensive knowledge of the Panigale is believed to have made him an attractive option ahead of the debut of Ducati’s new V4R model in 2026.

He will replace Italian rider Danilo Petrucci, who agreed to join BMW on a one-year deal earlier this year.

 “I want to thank Barni for the trust and interest he has shown in me,” Bautista shared.

“Right after the announcement that I would be free for the 2026 season, he contacted me without hesitation and that means a lot to me.

“I’m happy to remain in the Ducati family, where I have already achieved success and I believe that together with Barni we can reach great results.

“The team is constantly growing season after season, and this agreement represents another step forward.

“It will take commitment since I’ll be working with new people, but I’m confident because I see in Barni great motivation and a strong competitive spirit. I want to prove that I can still win.

“The last two years have not been easy due to the new regulations, but now with the new Panigale V4 and Ducati’s support, we’ll have everything we need to be competitive.

“The goal is to reach our maximum potential and from there aim even higher.”

Barni Spark Racing Team Principal Marco Barnabo stated: “We are proud to welcome Alvaro to our team for the upcoming season.

“For a private team, having a three-time World Champion is a source of great satisfaction and proves the solid credibility and stature of our team.

“Important challenges await us, but that’s exactly what drives us to constantly improve.

“Alvaro is still proving his worth today, and we are certain he can give us a fundamental contribution to continue growing.”

READ MORE – Six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea announces retirement after the 2025 season

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Six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea has announced he will retire from full-time racing at the end of the 2025 season.

The Northern Irishman departs as the most successful rider in the sport’s history, having won six consecutive world championships with Kawasaki from 2015 to 2020.

His career in the Superbike paddock began in 2008 with Ten Kate Honda, before he joined Kawasaki in 2015, and currently rides for Yamaha.

In his 459 championship races to date, the 38-year-old has broken numerous records, including the most championship titles, with 264 podium finishes and 119 victories.

Rea has struggled since moving to Yamaha in 2024, securing only one podium finish, which arrived at Donington Park.

Although he was rumoured to join Barni Spark Racing for the 2026 Ducati Panigale, the deal reportedly fell through.

“I’ve been thinking of this day for a long time, and finally I’ve decided to step away from full-time racing and retire,” Rea announced on his Instagram.

“This sport has been everything to me. From growing up as a child in Northern Ireland dreaming of racing bikes to standing on the top step of the World Superbike Championship, winning races and world championships.

“Throughout my career, I’ve only ever had one goal and that was to win, and that mentality defined who I was. I never raced to make up the numbers, I raced to be the best.

“But the time has come to listen to my body, my mind and most importantly, my instinct.

 “If I can’t race to win, then it’s time to step away. I have the same love for the sport I had on day one right now in this present day.

“I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve achieved during my lengthy career. Six World Championships, more than 100 race wins, and so many other accolades along the way. These are some records that I never imaged could be possible.

“It’s not the records, the trophies or the race wins. It’s the people and the memories I take with me forever,” he added.

“I’ve had the honour of working with some incredible teams, sponsors and engineers during my career.

“You’ve all been part of this journey and I’m incredibly grateful that you let me live my dream. To my family, mum and dad, brother and sisters, thank you so much for all your sacrifice during the early days of my career.

“To my wife, Tarsh, and our kids, Jake and Tyler, thank you so much for being my anchor and my rock during all the good and tougher times.

“To all my rivals and competitors during my career, thanks for making my dig deep. I was such a better rider because of you guys.

“To all my fans, thank you for all your incredible support and loyalty; all the support during good times and bad times have really helped me through and given me the career I’ve dreamed of.

“Whilst I’m stepping away from full-time racing, this isn’t goodbye. I’ll always be part of this sport, just in a different way.

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything. It’s been one hell of a ride. I’ll see you in the paddock.”

His legacy remains strong, highlighted by other achievements such as finishing runner-up to Sir Mo Farah in the 2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards and winning Irish Motorcyclist of the Year nine consecutive times.

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Luca Marini is impressed with the “remarkable strides” Honda has made in its development over the past year in MotoGP.

The Italian rider and the Japanese marque finished dead last in both championships during the 2024 season, enduring their worst-ever campaign in the premier class.

In 2025, Honda has taken steps forward, highlighted by Johann Zarco’s win at Le Mans and Marini finishing every race he competed in, despite missing three rounds due to injury.

Aside from rookie Somkiat Chantra, who has scored just one point, Zarco, Marini, and Joan Mir have placed Honda in the battle for ‘best of the rest’ behind Ducati.

Marini is choosing not to get complacent, stating to GPOne: “We have to keep our heads down and work because, in my opinion, there is still so much to sort out.

“In any case, it’s part of the process, we are making remarkable strides, especially considering where we started from.

“We have made a lot of changes since i arrived and that has allowed us to have decent speed here, in Austria and at two or three other tracks, especially where there is grip.

“Whereas now in Barcelona it’s going to be a big question mark because it’s a track where there is little grip and the engine matters so much and right now, those are our two weak points.

“We’ll see how we perform there.”

The 28-year-old produced his season-best result at the inaugural Hungarian round at Balaton Park, finishing fourth in Saturday’s Sprint and fifth in the Grand Prix.

He tussled in a battle with Franco Morbidelli and Jorge Martin, defeating only the former as Martin secured a career-best fourth place for Aprilia.

“Very good race, I had fun,” Marini told the media post-race.

“I got off to a really good start, in the first two corners, I juggled around pretty well, and then everything went pretty much according to plan.

“We were all there one in a row, half a second apart. Honestly, it already seemed to me that both me and Jorge [Martin] were a little bit faster than Franco [Morbidelli], but it’s really hard to overtake so we waited for the tyres to drop a little bit.

“It went really well, I’m happy with all the work we did all over the weekend and how we’re improving.”

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Ducati has officially announced the signing of Honda rider Iker Lecuona for the 2026 WorldSBK season.

Following its June announcement to part ways with two-time champion Alvaro Bautista after the 2025 season, Ducati believes the two-time WorldSBK podium finisher is the ideal replacement.

Still just 25, he has already built a strong resume across MotoGP and WorldSBK, racing for Tech3 KTM in 2020 and 2021, and spending the past four seasons with Honda.

The two-time podium finisher will join forces with Nicolo Bulega, who is two months his senior, for the 2026 season.

Due to the budget allocated for its second rider, reports indicate that the Spaniard has agreed to a reduced salary to ride the all-new 2026 Panigale.

Ducati’s official statement reads: “The Aruba.it Racing – Ducati team is pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached with Iker Lecuona, who will ride the new Ducati Panigale V4R in the 2026 WorldSBK season.

“Born on January 6, 2000, in Valencia, the Spanish rider made his debut in the Moto2 category at the age of 16, where he remained for four seasons before moving up to MotoGP in 2020 with the Tech3 team.

“Since 2022, he has been competing in World Superbike with the Honda HRC team, with whom he has achieved two podiums and one pole position in the 113 races he has contested so far.”

Honda added: “Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) and rider Iker Lecuona will bring their collaboration to a close at the end of the 2025 Superbike World Championship season.

“Since joining Honda HRC in 2022, Lecuona has proved his dedication and racing spirit, working closely with his crew to steadily improve on performance and consistently fight inside the top ten.

“His best WorldSBK results include two podium finishes, at Assen in 2022 and at Estoril in 2024.

“Committed to his role as a Honda rider, Lecuona also represented the company during several MotoGP rounds, as a replacement rider, and was part of the triumphant Honda line-up at the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in 2022, riding the CBR1000RR-R SP.

“Honda HRC wishes to thank Iker Lecuona for his dedication and professionalism throughout these four years together.”

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Marc Marquez triumphed in the inaugural MotoGP race at Balaton Park, securing his seventh consecutive victory in the process.

The factory Ducati rider continued his dominance as he sealed his tenth Grand Prix win of the season.

The Spaniard was joined on the rostrum by Pedro Acosta and Marco Bezzecchi, completing a podium made up of three different manufacturers.

Marquez held his lead from pole position to take the holeshot into Turn 1, but Aprilia’s Bezzecchi made an impressive overtake at Turn 2.

The Spaniard made contact with the Aprilia, which saw him drop back to fourth, but he immediately climbed back up to third.

Fabio Di Giannantonio appeared to have an issue with the rear of his bike, meaning he dropped from third to the pit lane.

Enea Bastianini was handed a double long-lap penalty after taking out Honda’s Johann Zarco in Saturday’s Sprint, but never got the chance to serve it, crashing out on Lap 1.

Alex Marquez went down at Turn 1 on the second lap, a crash that could have major implications for the championship considering his older brother’s advantage.

On Lap 3, Bezzecchi opened up a 0.8s advantage over his fellow VR46 Academy graduate Franco Morbidelli, with factory Ducati’s Marquez just a few bike lengths behind.

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo served his long-lap penalty on Lap 4, handed to him for taking out Bastianini at Turn 1 during Saturday’s Sprint, demoting him down to 12th.

Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez and Joan Mir crashed out at the final corner on the exact same lap, but only Fernandez rejoined.

Jack Miller lost the front of his Pramac Yamaha, adding to the growing list of early crashes in the race.

Out front, championship leader Marquez completed a comfortable block pass on Morbidelli at Turn 5, before posting back-to-back fastest laps.

Realistically, it took Marquez only two laps to get to the back of the Aprilia, but his first chance arrived at Turn 1 on Lap 8. The Spaniard ran wide, and Bezzecchi slotted his way back through, only for a near-identical battle to take place at Turn 5.

The Ducati’s superior acceleration was evident as Marquez took wider exits out of corners, while Bezzecchi maximised the Aprilia’s performance.

On Lap 11, Marquez executed the long-awaited move into Turn 1 and surged ahead to open a 0.8-second advantage by the following lap.

The gap extended further to 1.5s by the end of Lap 13, while Bezzecchi’s Aprilia came under threat from Pedro Acosta’s KTM.

The KTM rider had reduced the gap to 0.3s, but there was no perfect opportunity at the halfway phase.

Away from the lead trio, rookie Fermin Aldeguer lost the front into Turn 1, resulting in a double crash from both Gresini Ducati riders.

Although his team-mate Alex Marquez continued, the Spaniard occupied 15th for the vast majority of the race.

Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia started 13th and climbed to eighth, but after running wide, he was forced to lose a second upon rejoining. Despite that, he was handed a long-lap penalty, costing him a position.

While his struggles aboard the GP25 continued, his team-mate Marquez established a 2.8s gap over the rest of the field.

Behind the distant championship leader, Acosta climbed to second place after a Turn 1 overtake on Bezzecchi.

Pramac rider Miller crashed out for a second time, though this time he was unable to rejoin due to existing bike damage to his Yamaha.

LCR Honda rider Johann Zarco crashed out at Turn 8, meaning the Frenchman ends the weekend with zero points.

Marquez’s victory marks his seventh consecutive win and brings him one step closer to a ninth world championship.

Acosta sealed another rostrum for KTM as he crossed the line 4.3s behind his fellow countryman.

Bezzecchi rounded off the podium spots after leading for the first 11 laps of the race.

In fourth was Jorge Martin, who posted his best result on the Aprilia after starting 16th, closely followed by Honda’s Luca Marini and VR46 Ducati’s Morbidelli.

KTM’s Brad Binder and test rider Pol Espargaro ensured the Austrian marque had strong performers all round, securing seventh and eighth place, respectively.

Bagnaia secured ninth place, crossing the line nearly 15s behind his race-winning team-mate.

Fabio Quartararo rounded off the top ten for Yamaha, followed by rookie Ai Ogura and the Yamaha duo of Miguel Oliveira and Alex Rins.

Gresini’s Marquez secured 14th place as a result of multiple riders crashing, as Di Giannantonio claimed the final point after the torrid start.

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Championship leader Marc Marquez cruised to yet another MotoGP Sprint victory, claiming his 13th short-race win of the 2025 season at Balaton Park.

The Spaniard crossed the line a distant 2.1s clear of the VR46 Ducati duo of Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli.

Polesitter Marquez secured a perfect launch off the line into Turn 1, but the tight corner saw drama as Frenchman Fabio Quartararo took out Enea Bastianini.

The 2021 champion narrowly avoided a collision with Di Giannantonio and Marquez, and fortunately, only two riders were caught up in the incident with no injuries to report.

Bastianini rejoined after running through the gravel, but his race came to an end later that lap when he and Frenchman Johann Zarco crashed out.

Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi was caught up after starting second, dropping back to eighth place.

Marquez established a 0.5s advantage by the end of Lap 1, followed by the VR46 Ducati duo of Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli.

The lead kept growing as the Spaniard grew the gap to 1.0s, but the notable Turn 1 Lap 1 incident promoted the Honda duo of Luca Marini and Joan Mir to fourth and fifth place.

Mir ran wide on Lap 5, allowing Gresini rider Fermin Aldeguer to rise up to fifth place aboard his GP24 Ducati.

The stop-start nature of the new Hungarian track made overtaking a tough task, as shown by the tight scrap between Alex Marquez and Pol Espargaro.

Marquez ran wide when trying a lunge, allowing Espargaro to ease his way back through to reclaim eighth position.

Behind them, Jorge Martin and Pedro Acosta were locked in another battle, but Acosta’s attempted move ended in disaster as he ran wide and crashed out. Marquez and Martin inevitably found a way through.

Out front, Marc Marquez stretched out a 2.5s lead, but he must be cautious as he was issued a track limits warning with six laps to go.

That concern quickly faded, as the Spaniard dominated from start to finish to secure another win.

Di Giannantonio, the second GP25 Ducati rider, secured a strong result despite having to fight his way through the first phase of qualifying earlier in the day.

Morbidelli rounded off the podium spots, finishing 1.5s behind his fellow countryman and team-mate.

Marini secured a strong result for Honda to finish fourth, closely followed by rookie Aldeguer and team-mate Mir.

Bezzecchi’s seventh was all he could muster for Aprilia, but he fended off against championship rival Alex Marquez.

Martin secured ninth place and the final point in the short-race format, closely followed by KTM’s Pol Espargaro.

Raul Fernandez and Jack Miller followed as the pair crossed the line ahead of 13th-place rider, factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia.

Miguel Oliveira and Ai Ogura finished 14th and 15th, respectively, with Alex Rins and Pedro Acosta closing out proceedings.

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KTM rider Pedro Acosta topped the timesheets in the second MotoGP practice at the inaugural Balaton Park round.

The Spaniard finished third in first practice before lapping 1.5s quicker to post an impressive time of 1.37.061s.

Marc and Alex Marquez finished as Acosta’s nearest challengers, lapping 0.006s and 0.281s slower, respectively.

Fermin Aldeguer made a step to finish the session in fourth place, closely followed by Italian rider Enea Bastianini.

Franco Morbidelli posted a lap to place him sixth for VR46 Ducati, as Honda’s Joan Mir secured a Q2 place on his final run and ended up seventh.

Pol Espargaro secured eighth ahead of Honda’s Luca Marini and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo, with the latter the sole Yamaha rider in the top 10.

Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi both missed out by a tenth of a second, showing Aprilia are lacking in pace compared to previous races.

Fabio Di Giannantonio and Francesco Bagnaia struggled as the pair finished 13th and 14th on their respective GP25 Ducati machinery.

Brad Binder placed himself in 15th as the final KTM rider, closely accompanied by rookie Ai Ogura and Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller.

Miguel Oliveira and the second Trackhouse rider of Raul Fernandez slotted themselves in 18th and 19th.

Johann Zarco suffered a late crash, finishing 20th, but the final classified rider went to Yamaha’s Alex Rins.

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Four-time MotoGP race winner Jack Miller is waiting for an answer from Yamaha before deciding his future for the 2026 season.

The Australian joined Pramac Yamaha after being replaced at KTM by Pedro Acosta in 2025, signing a one-year deal that expires at the end of this season.

Earlier this year, Pramac Yamaha obtained the signature of two-time WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, meaning Miller or team-mate Miguel Oliveria will depart.

Yamaha has yet to make a final decision on who to keep within its satellite outfit, but Miller warns he has “options” and wants to secure his future as soon as possible.

“I’ve been more than patient enough. If you want me, you want me, if you don’t, you don’t. It’s as clear as that,” he said to MotoGP.com at Balaton Park.

“Your guess is as good as mine at the moment, in terms of what their strategy is and what they plan on doing. 

“I have options, and I’m going to move forward with those options if it doesn’t come quickly.”

Where could Jack Miller end up in 2026?

Miller’s contract expires at the end of the 2025 season, but his alternative options could lead him to the WorldSBK paddock.

The 30-year-old has been heavily linked with moves to Ducati and BMW, but the former is reportedly close to signing Iker Lecuona.

Since joining Pramac Yamaha this season, he is currently the second-best Yamaha rider in the standings, 10 points ahead of factory rider Alex Rins.

Miller believes he has a lot to offer the Japanese brand, especially with development underway on the new V4 engine.

“I was looking forward to developing and moving forward with them to try and help them,” Miller said.

“I feel like I have a lot of information to give, a lot of input to give, and can help in a project like that.

“If they cannot see the value in that, well then, I understand and I will move on to something different.”

READ MORE – Yamaha V4 engine ‘two seconds slower’ than current MotoGP machine

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Distant championship leader Marc Marquez continued his dominance by topping the timesheets at MotoGP’s newest circuit, Balaton Park.

The factory Ducati rider posted a 1.37.956s, finishing the session as the sole rider in the 1.37s.

After Marquez was KTM test rider Pol Espargaro, who had previously tested the new track ahead of the race weekend.

Pedro Acosta rounded off the top three to continue his strong form, lapping 0.570s behind Marquez.

Luca Marini posted a lap to place his Honda in fourth, followed closely by Gresini’s Alex Marquez and Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi.

Franco Morbidelli escaped injury after crashing twice to finish seventh for VR46 Ducati.

Enea Bastianini secured eighth for Tech3 KTN, as he and rookie Fermin Aldeguer shared identical lap times.

Jorge Martin rounded off the top 10 for Aprilia, even though his RS-GP suffered a massive engine blowout during the session.

Fabio Quartararo and Fabio Di Giannantonio secured 11th and 12th, respectively, followed closely by Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller.

Johann Zarco finished the next highest Honda in 14th, but the surprise of the session was factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia finishing down in 15th.

Both Trackhouse Racing riders, Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura, secured 16th and 17th, with both riders lapping faster than Miguel Oliveira and Joan Mir.

Alex Rins and Brad Binder closed out proceedings, lapping two seconds slower than the series leader.

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Two-time MotoGP champion Casey Stoner has voiced his disapproval of MotoGP’s new stability control system.

Ahead of last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, MotoGP announced a new safety feature aimed at preventing highsides and other dangerous crashes.

The introduction of this safety aid comes in addition to the existing traction control system, adding yet more electronics to the bike.

Stoner, a rider who has consistently expressed his disdain for electronics since retiring in 2012, didn’t mince words when asked about the latest additions.

“Speaking to the riders, you can literally go and twist the throttle. You’ve got nearly 300bhp and you can twist the throttle, nothing happens,” Stoner said in Austria. (Via Autosport)

“You’ve got the best riders in the world riding the easiest bikes to ride in the world. And I don’t see this as being anything that I’m interested in.

“It was something that I was fighting already back in 2012, that I really just did not enjoy riding the bikes and the amount of control that they took away from me.

“And yet we’ve got to this point now where they’re just this weekend putting a heap more on.”

The 2007 and 2011 champion even admitted he’d rather face the consequences of a crash than rely on electronics, believing they could ultimately lead to severe injuries.

“”Why? Where’s the reason in that? Certainly not safety, because I haven’t seen this championship get safer in these last years.

“I think last year or the year before, half the grid was out with injury. That’s not safer.

“I think it’s safer if you highside a bike and have a bit of an injury or a bit of a scare, that is going to keep you a little bit more safe, a bit more tame.

“But when you’ve got nothing to be scared of and you just trust it, that’s when things are bad.

“The only area they can really make a big difference is under brakes, which then they start to having to push all limits.”

Stoner wasn’t the only critic, as championship leader Marc Márquez also opposed the move, even saying, “I don’t like it.”

READ MORE – MotoGP riders divided over ‘easy’ stability control update ahead of Austrian GP

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