Australia’s Carter Thompson claimed a sensational maiden FIM Sportbike World Championship victory at the Cremona Circuit on Sunday, delivering the first race win for the new 2026 Yamaha R7 in commanding style.
Following a fiercely contested fifth-place finish in Saturday’s opening race, the Team BrCorse rider produced an impressive performance in Race 2, taking the lead on lap four and never looking back. Thompson eventually crossed the line 5.305 seconds clear of his nearest rival, completing a memorable weekend in Italy that also saw him top Free Practice and secure pole position.
Starting Sunday’s 12-lap encounter from fourth on the grid, the Australian immediately joined the battle at the front, moving into second on the opening lap. Despite briefly dropping to fourth on lap two, the Australian fought his way back into contention before taking the lead on the fourth lap.
From there, Thompson began to establish his advantage aboard the new Yamaha R7, extending his lead to almost two seconds by the halfway stage. Continuing to pull clear of the chasing pack, he set a new race lap record of 1’36.157 on lap nine before taking the chequered flag more than five seconds ahead of Xavi Artigas.
The victory marks a significant milestone for Yamaha, securing the first WorldSPB race win for the 2026 Yamaha R7 and rewarding Thompson and Team BrCorse for their efforts throughout the season.
Thompson’s teammate Marco Gaggi also enjoyed a competitive outing on home soil. Starting tenth, the Italian battled among the leading group in the opening stages before bringing his Yamaha R7 home in ninth place, completing a double top ten finish for Team BrCorse.
Mirko Gennai (Panattoni BGR Smrz Racing) finished 14th despite having to serve two Long Lap penalties for a jump start, while Gonzalo Sanchez (ARCO Yamaha MotoR University Team) recovered from 34th on the grid to take 16th.
The Progp Nitiracing duo of Felix Mulya and Kevin Farkas finished 18th and 20th respectively, with reigning FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup champion Alessandro Di Persio (ARCO Yamaha MotoR University Team) crossing the line in 25th.
Thompson’s victory moves him into third place in the WorldSPB championship standings with 158 points as the championship heads to Jerez for its final round on 16-18 October.
Carter Thompson (Team BrCorse), Race 2: 1st, Championship: 3rd (158 points)
“I’m really happy to finally get the race win. I’ve been on the poduum a few times this year but I really wanted to get the win. It’s the home race for the team as well, so that makes it extra special. We knew we had good pace all weekend, but yesterday we struggled to fight in the group so my plan today was to try and get to the front and get a gap to run my rythmn and do my lines, and this is what we were able to do. Now we look forward to Jerez, and hopefully we can do it again!”
Niccolò Canepa
“This is a historic moment for Yamaha, with the new R7 taking its first victory in the Sportbike World Championship. Carter has been strong all weekend and delivered an excellent race to secure his first win of the season, after coming so close on several occasions since Misano. This victory also moves him up to third in the championship, highlighting the progress made by the BrCorse Team throughout the season. With one round still to go, we hope this is the first of more victories before the season comes to a close. Congratulations to Carter and the entire BrCorse Team on a fantastic result.”
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