Canepa’s Comments: Round 10 – Cremona

In WorldSSP, Albert Arenas continued to edge closer to securing the 2026 Championship title with a double podium, while in WorldSBK, Yamaha continued to seek improvement and progress after what has been a challenging season in the premier class.

Here’s the verdict from Yamaha Motor Europe’s Road Racing Sporting Manager, Niccolò Canepa:

“It was fantastic to see so many spectators at the track, with a crowd figure of 45,977 which marks a clear increase on last year. The event felt busy and there was a great atmosphere in the late September sunshine.

“It was a historic weekend for us with the 2026 R7 taking its first win in the new Sportbike World Championship with Carter Thompson. Carter has come close several times, and showed the best pace all weekend. After Race 1 did not go to plan, he was able to react to this and dominated the second race to take his first win in the class. The progress of the R7 in Sportbike was also reflected by Carter’s Team BrCorse team-mate, Marco Gaggi, who finished inside the top ten in both races. Carter now sits third in the championship ahead of the final round at Jerez.

“In WorldSBK it was a complicated weekend, across the board there were quite a few crashes, especially on Friday, some of which including our riders. Despite a crash on Friday, Andrea Locatelli had a solid weekend and saw a step in the right direction, working with his new crew chief Emanuele Martinelli. Race 1 was positive, Andrea was the best Yamaha rider in seventh position and showed consistent pace until the end. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite manage to improve the package enough for Sunday compared to our rivals, but there was definitely a step in the right direction on his side of the garage.

“For Xavi Vierge, it was a challenging weekend. He had very good pace on Friday, but we did not seem able to make progress through the weekend. He struggled in both long races, which ultimately ended in two crashes and in the Superpole race he finished 12th. Fortunately we now move to two tracks he has been strong at in the past, so we expect a clear improvement in Portugal and Spain.

“For Remy Gardner it was another unlucky weekend. On Friday morning he showed strong pace and rhythm, in fact, perhaps the strongest out of all of the Yamaha riders. Unfortunately, a crash on the first lap of FP2 caused a fracture in his left hand. He tried anyway and raced on Saturday, finishing in 12th position, however, the pain got worse after this and he was declared unfit for the rest of the weekend. It is a real pity, because the potential of the weekend was there. We hope he can be back at Estoril in the best possible condition.

“It was an up and down weekend for Stefano Manzi, but he ended it with two eleventh places and a crash in the Superpole race. The positive thing was in Race 2 he was only a few tenths behind Locatelli. He is still learning the R1 and understanding how the bike reacts and how to adapt his style to be more effective on the bike.”

“It was another positive weekend in WorldSSP for Albert Arenas, who finished on the podium in both races. Two second places bring him closer to the riders’ title, with his championship lead now 86 points meaning a podium in race 1 at Estoril will be enough to secure the title.

“It was also great to see Filippo Farioli and the VFT Racing team take to the podium for the first time with the R9 in Race 1. It’s great to see the R9 has been competitive with so many riders over the last two seasons – eight riders have now taken podiums with the R9, with four of those riders taking their maiden podiums with the bike!

“It was a challenging weekend for Can Öncü, who crashed in Race 1 and finished eleventh in Race 2, and after his debut win in Magny-Cours, Roberto Garcia also endured a challenging weekend where the pace seemed not to be there.

“We also saw the penultimate round of the Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup in Cremona, where again we saw two thrilling races. A third win from four races for Riichi Takahira saw the championship lead change for the first time this season, but with just one point separating the Japanese rider with the Dominican Republic’s Xarly Mendez, and several other riders in with a chance, the final round in Estoril should be very exciting!

“We continue to work hard to find progress, with two rounds left back-to-back at Estoril and Jerez. They will be big weekends for us, not least with the title on the line in WorldSSP, but also for many other reasons and we look ahead to finishing the season on a high.”