The World Sportbike Championship has officially been unveiled ahead of its introduction for the 2026 season.
The Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and WorldSBK have revealed the name of the new entry-level racing category: World Sportbike, which will debut in the World Superbike Championship in 2026.
World Sportbike is set to succeed the World Supersport 300 class, which has been in the paddock since its introduction in 2017. Building upon the foundations laid by World Supersport 300, World Sportbike will aim to create a path for young riders transitioning towards World Supersport.
Featuring agile motorcycles with mid-tier capacity engines, this new category promises exciting competition and enhanced opportunities for manufacturers, teams, and riders alike.
As the final World Supersport 300 season takes place in 2025, teams and manufacturers prepare their World Sportbike debut, with additional details regarding technical specifications and sporting regulations for World Sportbike to be released in due course.
The World Supersport 300 Championship allowed young riders to develop their racecraft and make their way through the racing ranks.
Most notable are the 2018, 2019 and 2021 World Supersport 300 Champions, Ana Carrasco, Manuel Gonzalez and Adrian Huertas.
Carrasco became the first-ever female World Champion solo road racer, and then went on to win the 2024 Women's Circuit Racing World Championship 2024.
Gonzalez won the Supersport 300 Championship in his second year in the class, and after two years in World Supersport, made his way into the Moto2 World Championship in 2022. The Spaniard is now leading the 2025 Moto2 World Championship after six rounds of the current season.
The 2024 World Supersport Champion, Adrian Huertas, also won the 2021 World Supersport 300 Championship. After winning the 2021 title, he spent three years in World Supersport, before following Gonzalez across to Moto2 for the 2025 season.
