Loris Veneman would like to erase the 2026 Sportbike World Championship from his memory

Loris Veneman is the son of Barry Veneman, who competed in the Superstock 1000 and Supersport World Championships in the early 2000s. Finishing eighth in the World Championship in 2007 and 2008 were his best seasons. So Loris was born with a love of motorcycling, but bad luck seemed to find him all on its own. It has been dogging him for the past two years.

Having finished second in the Supersport 300 World Championship, the 20-year-old moved to the Ducati-backed EAB Racing team for the 2025 Supersport World Championship. The transition was a disaster. In the first six races, he suffered one crash through no fault of his own, one of his own making, and a retirement due to a technical fault. In the remaining three races, he didn’t finish higher than 18th. After Assen, Veneman threw in the towel, returned to the 300cc class and impressed with a win and four podium finishes!

The 2026 World Sportbike Championship with MTM Kawasaki was a mixed bag from the outset. The season got off to a promising start in Portimão with a fifth-place finish and a win, but after securing pole position at his home race in Assen, it was a rollercoaster of highs and lows. Halfway through the season, the Dutchman was forced to retire following a crash; the crash at Most, in particular, resulted in long-term limitations. Following a crash in Cremona through no fault of his own, Veneman’s season has come to an end due to a complex injury to his left arm.

“I won’t be fit for the final race in Jerez. It’s been a tough year, one in which I haven’t been able to ride injury-free since the race at Most,” Veneman emphasised in his column on Racesport.nl. “This brings to an end a season that, I must admit, I’d prefer to forget as quickly as possible. It’s frustrating because it wasn’t down to my speed. That’s perhaps the positive I’d like to take from it. I know I’m fast enough to compete at the front and consistently fight for a place in the top five.

Veneman continued: “In motor racing, however, you sometimes need a bit of luck. And I definitely didn’t have much of that this season. Right now, a full recovery is the top priority. After that, we’ll see what next year brings. One thing I know for sure, though: the pace was there, and a lack of motivation certainly won’t be the problem.”

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