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Early Success For Kawasaki Riders In New WorldSPB Class
An entirely new FIM World Championship came into competitive life at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve between March 27-29, 2026, with the launch of the FIM Sportbike World Championship. This replaces the outgoing WorldSSP300 category within the overall WorldSBK paddock.
Thanks to the previous race experience of the top Kawasaki riders and a sweet-handling chassis on the Ninja ZX-6R 636, the first two races were won by competitors with great WorldSSP300 racing experience - Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) in Race 1 and then Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki) in Race 2.
The new championship will be held over eight rounds in 2026, with Kawasaki riders and teams competing with a retuned version of the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636, as per the balancing rules that ensure fair competition.
The aim of the new championship is to continue to develop younger riding talents, but in a more relevant format to the next stages of the production-derived racing pyramid. Hence, there is a wide spread of machines from 450cc to around 800cc in the new category, but all are balanced in various ways to achieve a maximum power output of 90 BHP.
In all, seven manufacturers made it to the starting grid for the first WorldSPB race weekend, proving how instantly popular this new format of racing at world championship level is.
After a pre-season test at Portimao a few days before the season got underway for real, there was a Free Practice session and then Superpole Qualifying on Friday, March 27, which brought the new class into the full public gaze.
The most potent Ninja ZX-6R 636 rider in Superpole Qualifying was third-placed David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI), with Veneman sixth.
The opening race of the World Sportbike era ended up being a complicated affair, after an oil spill brought the first attempted running of the 11 lap race to a halt after only six laps. After a delay to clean the track surface, the race was eventually restarted.
Because the red-flagged ‘race’ had not reached two-thirds of its full planned distance, a very short five-lap race proved to be the only official Race 1. Despite its short length, full points were awarded to riders, manufacturers, and teams after this intense five-lap ‘sprint’.
Grid positions for the new start were based on the position of each rider in the last timed sector they passed through before the red flag stoppage.
The first race of the new era finally proved to be historic for Kawasaki, as well as the whole new category. Two Kawasaki riders, Torres and Salvador, made perfect final-lap maneuvers to take a 1-2 for the Ninja ZX-6R 636 in WorldSPB specification.
Torres was the victor by just 0.023 seconds from his teammate Salvador, with Ferre Fleerackers (Suzuki) 0.055 seconds from the race win.
A strong showing for Kawasaki saw Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki) fifth, while Alvaro Fuertes (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team Kawasaki) finished eighth, and just one second from the winning race time.
Veneman was ninth in Race 1, even after being penalized with a long lap penalty for jump-starting that carried over from the first attempted running of the race.
Juan Risueno (Pons Motosport Italika Racing) was 15th, and Julian Correa (Pons Motosport Italika Racing) was 16th. Jose Osuna (Deza-Box 77 Racing Team Kawasaki) was the only Kawasaki rider not to finish the first race.
The second race, over a full 11 laps on Sunday, March 29, was again held in warm and sunny conditions. This contest saw a breakaway four-rider group eventually dragged back into a larger fight for the final points scores of the opening weekend.
Veneman was on very strong form and clearly determined to stay in the lead. He managed the lead of the second race in consistent fashion and ended up the winner, although only 0.060 seconds ahead of Salvador, 0.094 seconds up on Torres, and 0.140 seconds ahead of Artigas.
All of the Top 4 finishers were Kawasaki riders, using all their previous experience and sweet chassis set-up to the full at one of the most undulating and challenging circuit layouts on the calendar. The only other Kawasaki finisher inside the points range was Fuertes, in 11th place.
After a truly exciting new experience for all inside the WorldSBK paddock, the championship points table features Torres at the top, with 41 points, and his teammate Salvador is just one behind in second place. Veneman is third with 32 points and Artigas fourth with 24. Fuertes sits ninth, with 13 points, and Risueno is 19th, with a single point for his first race in 15th position.
Kawasaki leads the Manufacturers’ Championship by 24 points from Suzuki, after the first of eight rounds in all. In the Teams’ Championship, ProDina Kawasaki XCI leads MTM, 81 points to 56.
The next round will take place at Loris Veneman’s home round - Assen in the Netherlands - between April 17 and 19.
“The second race went really well from the start, and I could ride my own race from Lap 3 on, I believe. I could keep my own pace, keep the tire well, and set really consistent lap times until the last few laps when they started overtaking me a bit, and then I had to try some more defensive lines. In that way, I could also ride fast enough to stay in front. On the last lap, I decided to block as much as I could. Only David [Salvador] overtook me at one time, but I was able to fight right back and come away with the victory. I am really happy, and I cannot wait to go to Assen.”
- Loris Veneman (MTM Kawasaki)
“We finished the first weekend in a new category, a new paddock, and a new everything for me. I felt quite good and very strong in the races. In the straights, we lost too much compared to the others, but I am happy with the pace in the races, how I managed the races, and I am also happy because the team gave me a really good bike to ride. Fifth and fourth are ok for the start. I expected a bit more, but I feel really confident. Assen is a really good track for me from my past career, so I am all ready for the next round.”
- Xavi Artigas (MTM Kawasaki)
“I'm really happy with this victory! It's my first win and also the first in the history of this new category, something incredible, especially because we started so far back and managed to recover so much to win. We're really happy to have finished the weekend in the best possible way, with a good third place in Race 2. We worked hard throughout the weekend, and the results prove it. We also leave this round as championship leaders, which is really important. My teammate is second, just one point behind, so it's a great result for the whole team.”
- Antonio Torres (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI)
“I'm satisfied with the first race; it was a good start for us. The race was difficult because I didn't want to make any mistakes at the start, especially in the first sector, where we weren't familiar with the track conditions. I was more cautious there, then I started pushing harder. I'm happy with the result, and also because the rider who overtook me just before the finish line was my teammate, so in the end the victory stayed with the team. On Sunday we made some changes to the bike, but that changed my feeling a bit. It wasn't like in testing or during the rest of the weekend; the feeling was a bit strange and I didn't have the same feeling as usual. In the end, I waited until the last lap to get the best possible result. This isn't the most favourable circuit for me in the championship, so leaving this track with two second-place finishes is still a very good result.”
- David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI)