Xavi Vierge: Scored the only Yamaha points on worn-out tyres

After four difficult years with Honda, Xavi Vierge joined the Yamaha works team for the 2026 World Superbike Championship and had justified hopes that his results would improve. However, the ever-stronger competition made the R1 look increasingly weak. In fact, the Catalan rider was more successful in every season with Honda than in his sole season with Yamaha – both in terms of points scored and his World Championship position.

The season finale at Jerez also marked their final weekend together. It had long been clear that Yamaha and Vierge would part ways after just one season. The 29-year-old was the only Yamaha rider whose contract was due to expire and therefore had to make way for Jack Miller, who was joining from MotoGP.

Xavi Vierge: Best Yamaha rider at Jerez

Vierge ensured he would be fondly remembered, and was by far the best Yamaha rider in every session – despite a crash in Superpole. His retirement from the first race whilst in 11th place was due to a technical fault.

On race day, the Spaniard bid farewell to his team with 9th and 12th places. “It was a solid day,” said Vierge. “Especially the Superpole race, where we had a really strong pace. I was on the standard race tyre and managed to fight my way back well, battling amongst the top nine. That’s always nice, because it means you start the long race from the first three rows – and the overtaking manoeuvre on the final lap felt brilliant too.”

In the second race, Vierge held his own in the top 10 for ten laps. As his tyres wore out, he fell victim to the conditions. “We knew the race would be tough, because tyre management over 20 laps is very different from that over 10 laps. I got off to a good start and was on a par with the other riders, but lap after lap I had to push the tyres too hard just to keep up. Unfortunately, I then started to slow down,” explained the Yamaha rider. “Nevertheless, I gave it my all right to the end. The result doesn’t reflect the work we’ve put in throughout the year, but we’re ending the season on a solid note. I’d like to thank the Pata Maxus Yamaha team for all their hard work this year and wish them every success for the future.”

Despite nine retirements, Vierge finished the 2026 Superbike World Championship in 13th place with 113 points. The top Yamaha rider was Andrea Locatelli, who finished 12th with 121 points. For the coming season, the Spaniard has agreed a deal with the Barni Racing Ducati team to succeed Álvaro Bautista.