A debut victory that was on the cards: Roberto Garcia is Yamaha’s new SSP talent

Roberto Garcia has only been a Supersport rider since Misano 2025; prior to that, the European Moto2 Championship was his motorsport home. When the Yamaha GMT94 team needed a replacement for Michael Rinaldi, team principal Christophe Guyot signed the talented Spaniard and continued with him in the 2026 Supersport World Championship.

Although several retirements have marred the 20-year-old’s record this year, a third-place finish at the Balaton Circuit marked his first podium finish. At MotorLand Aragón and Donington Park, Garcia finished fourth, but even there he led the races at times and was only slightly behind the winner.

GMT94 laid the foundations for a strong race weekend at Magny-Cours with a test session on the French circuit. After finishing second in the first race – his best Supersport result to date – Garcia followed that up with a victory on Sunday.

When the second race was abandoned after eleven laps, Garcia was already battling for victory in a group of four. At the subsequent five-lap restart, the Yamaha rider positioned himself in the slipstream of the leader, Can Öncü, at the start of the final lap and waited for an opportunity to overtake. His chance came at Turn 15, when the Turkish rider missed his braking point. Garcia didn’t hesitate and secured his first Supersport victory.

“This feeling is incredible. It was a gruelling weekend. On Saturday, I was disappointed to have missed out on the win. That’s why my goal for Sunday was to win,” said Garcia, relieved. “I made a small mistake at the first start, but when I saw the red flag, I thought this could be my chance. Can was unbelievably fast in the final sector, but he made a mistake and I didn’t let the opportunity slip by – I went past on the inside. I gave it my all, and we did it. Two podium finishes are brilliant – not just for me, but also for my team, as it’s their home race, and of course for Yamaha too.”

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In the overall standings, the Spaniard from Seville moved up two places and is now sixth in the World Championship – just one point behind fifth-placed Tom Booth-Amos (Triumph). Yamaha recognised Garcia’s talent long ago and has extended his contract for the 2027 Supersport World Championship.