Strong Australian: Carter Thompson saved Yamaha in the Sportbike World Championship

Seven manufacturers were confirmed to compete in the 2026 World Sportbike Championship, with Yamaha having the strongest representation in terms of numbers. Eleven regular riders were on the R7, accounting for a good third of the field. However, the results in the first half of the season were disappointing: whilst Aprilia, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Triumph had already won races, Yamaha did not secure its first podium finish until the fourth round of the season, in the second race at MotorLand Aragon.

Yamaha’s star rider is Carter Thompson from Team BrCorse, which was the first to field the new R7 model. From that point on, the Australian continued to climb the overall standings. Ranked only ninth in the World Championship after Aragon, the 18-year-old raced onto the podium in five of the eight closely contested races, securing two victories.

When the teenager won the second race at the season finale in Jerez, he moved up to third place in the World Championship standings. Thompson was the only Yamaha rider to consistently compete at the front – his team-mate Marco Gaggi is the second-best Yamaha rider in the overall standings, finishing 14th in the World Championship!

“It was a really great race,” grinned Thompson after his third win of the season. “I was still a bit unsure in the opening laps because of the raindrops. We knew we’d had the pace all weekend, but we struggle in the pack. That’s why I wasn’t sure what would happen.”

Thompson had a good sense of the right moment when he took the lead on lap 4 and managed to break away from the main group. After eleven laps, he crossed the finish line with a 4.5-second lead. Such a lead was a rare sight in this highly competitive series.

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“I pushed as hard as I could,” insisted the Australian. “It’s brilliant to finish third in the championship, considering where we were at the start of the year – if someone had told me we’d end up there, I wouldn’t have believed it. I can’t thank the team and Yamaha enough for the work they’ve put into the bike; we’ve come a long way to be able to win races.”