Twan Smits (Yamaha): Difficult weeks, then great progress

There were two unexpected twists when Bahattin Sofuoglu ended his Superbike stint with Motoxracing to return to the Supersport World Championship with the QJ Team, whilst at the same time Twan Smits from Euro Moto took over the Turkish rider’s vacated Yamaha R1. To do so, the Dutchman skipped the season finale of the IDM’s successor series at Hockenheim, thereby losing third place to Markus Reiterberger.

In return, Smits gained valuable experience at the rounds in Cremona, Estoril and Jerez, which will stand him in good stead next year – the Yamaha team signed the 22-year-old as a team-mate to Mattia Rato, who will be contesting his second Superbike season with Motoxracing in 2027.

“We’re ending the season with a big step in the right direction,” emphasised Smits after the season finale. “It’s been a few difficult weeks, but on the final day of racing we took a good step forward. A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this journey possible. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to experience this paddock and have enjoyed every moment of it. I look forward to continuing our collaboration and hopefully making great progress throughout 2027.”

At Assen, Smits made a guest appearance with his Euro Moto team, Apreco. His best finish was 16th place in the second race at the Cremona Circuit. There are high hopes that the private Yamaha team will benefit from the changes to the balance system.