Yari Montella (Ducati): When fourth place feels like a defeat

At the rounds in Misano and Donington Park, Yari Montella impressed with six consecutive podium finishes, meaning he went into the long summer break of the 2026 Superbike World Championship in third place in the championship standings – a position he thoroughly deserved. Finishing fourth in the first race at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours was a slight disappointment for the Barni Ducati rider.

In fact, fourth place was hard-fought in his duel with Alex Lowes (Bimota). For five laps, the 26-year-old Italian struggled to get the better of the seasoned rider. “You can really be satisfied with fourth place. But after so many top-three finishes in a row, it doesn’t feel quite as good,” Montella lamented. “Nevertheless, I’m happy with my race because it was simply the best I could do. We’ve been having problems all weekend. The bike feels twitchy, so we need to try and find a better set-up for Sunday. It’s doable, and if we finish fourth today, just behind Sam Lowes – we might be able to beat him.”

Barni team-mate Álvaro Bautista stands no chance against Montella

In his second Superbike season, Montella has established himself as the number one rider in the Barni team. Álvaro Bautista, who moved to the privateer Ducati team with title ambitions, stands no chance against Montella. Whilst the Italian already has eleven podium finishes to his name, the 41-year-old has only managed a top-three finish at the season opener in Australia. At Magny-Cours, the two-time Superbike World Champion crashed and finished last.

Does this imbalance affect the atmosphere within the team? “The atmosphere in my team is the same as ever – brilliant, because we’re having our best season yet in the Superbike category,” explained Montella. “I can’t comment on what it’s like on the other side of the pit because I spend the day with my crew. From the outside, it doesn’t look as though the mood has changed.”

Montella reflects: “In fact, though, I don’t have any direct insight and I don’t know what it’s like for Álvaro either. Among team-mates, there’s always that rivalry to be number one, and you push each other to perform better. That’s one way of looking at it. The other is that I’m trying to deliver my best performance. If Álvaro were to win races and I only came fifth, there’s not much you can do about it and you just have to try even harder. Ultimately, that’s what we’re doing at the moment.”

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