The MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship has rolled into the Autodrom Most for the 2026 Czech Round. Plenty of debriefs took place ahead of the pit lane opening on Friday, with lots to talk about: the future, the upcoming round and returning to the Championship. We’ve gathered the best quotes from Thursday below.
Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “I have good memories from last year, so I hope to be fast here at Most”
Discussing his future and the upcoming weekend, Bulega said: “Most is a track that I like a bit more than Balaton Park, still not one of my favourites, but I have good memories from last year, so I hope to be fast here at Most. Honestly, we’re reaching very good results with the bike and the team, we’re in a very good moment, I’m enjoying riding the bike a lot and I hope to continue improving every time I get on the bike. The MotoGP test in Mugello was short but very nice, I did only 25 Laps or so. I enjoyed it because it’s been three years without riding at Mugello, so it was nice to ride there on a MotoGP bike. I think I have a quite a good feeling about my future. We’re still talking with my manager about a few different situations, but I feel positive. MotoGP is the dream, when you are young, you see the maximum level and it’s MotoGP, WorldSBK has given me lots of motivation, and if I have to stay here, I’m very happy anyway.”
Danilo Petrucci (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “I was already feeling fit at home. I had a good week of training. It was a big hit on my back and ribs”
Providing a fitness update and previewing Most, Petrucci said: “This morning, they declared me fit so I’m really happy. I was already feeling fit at home. I had a good week of training. It was a big hit on my back and ribs. At home, all the checks and therapy that I did were okay. Most is one of my favourite tracks. Balaton was quite difficult. On Friday, we were looking for the best setup, then I crashed in FP2 due to a problem, then another crash in Superpole. Race 1 was not the best, but the weekend started in a bad way and started in a worse way. Last year, I was always in Parc Ferme in third place and the front row. It’s a track that I like, a good mix between hard braking areas and flowing corners. During the winter tests, Mickey he helped us a lot because both me and Miguel were new on the bike. He can bring some more experience on how to ride this bike, and I think he’s always fast. It’s good to have someone who knows the bike and is also fast.”
Iker Lecuona (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati): “Mixed conditions can help me, for sure. I like those conditions; I always take some advantage compared to the rest”
Feeling confident ahead of the Czech Round, Lecuona said: “It’s a track that I’ve been quite fast at in the past. I’ve had good results here. Let’s see what we can achieve with the Ducati. Of course, I want to win, and I think every time I jump on the bike, I get closer to Nicolo, I go faster, and my confidence improves a lot. My confidence improved after Balaton. Let’s see if I can fight. I don’t know if I’ll win, but I’ll try! Mixed conditions can help me, for sure. I like those conditions; I always take some advantage compared to the rest. Of course, all the British riders also have that extra confidence because it’s more normal for them! No update on my future. My manager came to Balaton Park, and I now have a meeting with Ducati, Serafino, and Stefano. Plan A is to continue with the team, and I think they want to continue with me, but I don’t know the details.”
Sam Lowes (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) “I arrive here feeling positive, and the weather looks so-so for the weekend, so being an Englishman, it will probably play into our hands”
Aiming to return to the podium, the #14 stated: “I really enjoyed Most last season, on Sunday I had two fourth places, but really close battles with Petrucci. I enjoyed the races, but to finish fourth always leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth. I’m looking forward to coming back here. Balaton wasn’t the easiest weekend for us; we had a few issues, and I made a few mistakes. We didn’t show our true potential, but I arrive here feeling positive, and the weather looks so-so for the weekend; it’s cold, so being an Englishman, it will probably play into our hands. The Ducati is also working very well; I feel like I’ve made a step with my riding style. I’m looking at fighting for the podium here after two close fourths last year. The factory Ducati boys have taken a step in the last few races. At a circuit like this with the weather we’ll have, I’m going to try to cut down that gap. We made some wrong changes last weekend, and I think we saw that we can follow my direction more than the others, but I can’t say too much about the team; they’re doing a fantastic job. I don’t think wet conditions will help me, but it won’t hurt me. Some riders don’t like the rain, but I’m not worried about the conditions.”
Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team): “We had a fourth last year in Race 1, and that means we can aim to try and do a bit better than last year”
Setting his sights on a “better” weekend than at Balaton Park, the #22 said: “This year’s going quite fast, fifth round already! It’s an enjoyable layout with many variables. There’s heavy braking at Turn 1, but from that point, it’s quite technical. I’m looking forward to trying to improve on last year at Most and seeing if we can have a better, more competitive weekend than last time out at Balaton. We know how well the bike changes direction, so I think the second and third sectors, especially, there are some nice corners that flow into each other, which suits the style of our bike. We need to make sure we’re strong in those sections. We had a fourth last year in Race 1, and that means we can aim to try and do a bit better than last year. I try not to have a target. I want to be in the fight for the podium. Next year’s got some quite big changes in WorldSBK, and I think it’ll be quite interesting. From my point of view, it’ll be nice to be involved. I feel like I’m generally riding as well as I’ve ridden. I’m not thinking about stopping just yet! Hopefully, we can start talking about it in the next few weeks and see what the plan is for next year.”
Michael van der Mark (ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team): “I still have stuff to test, but when you go out in a race weekend, for sure you go out in race mode”
Returning to WorldSBK in place of Miguel Oliveira, van der Mark said: “It feels nice to be back racing, but I wish it were in a different setup because Miguel was having a good season so far. It’s a real shame he’s out. I’m more than happy to help the team and ride his back. Everyone was saying you’ve got a quiet life with only four races in EWC, but now it looks like I’ll be fully booked for the next five weeks! It’s been busier than before. It’s a different job, something I’ve been enjoying, but the thing I enjoy the most is being on the grid. I still have stuff to test, but when you go out in a race weekend, for sure, you go out in race mode. If I see an opportunity to get some good results, I’ll always go for it. It’s been tough to watch WorldSBK as I want to be on the grid. It’s good to see Miguel already getting some podiums and Danilo improving.”
Axel Bassani (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team): “I arrive at Most not completely happy because the last two rounds for us have been quite difficult… we have the speed and capacity to go fast”
Aiming for some Tissot Superpole improvements, Bassani said: “I arrive at Most not completely happy because the last two rounds for us have been quite difficult, especially because we had quite bad Superpole results. Now, it’s really important to start from the front of the grid. I think in the last two rounds we started to focus on other riders, follow them to have a good slipstream, and I think it’s better to focus on ourselves. I think we have the speed and capacity to go fast. I think it’s quite early to think about next year. It’s something we’ll think about. We spoke a little bit with Bimota for next year, but nothing special at the moment. We’re trying to do our considerations, understand what’s better for me in the future, and we’ll see in the next weeks.”
Yari Montella (Barni Spark Racing Team) “We’re improving in every race, and I hope to be stronger than last year”
Looking ahead to Most, Montella said: “I feel good! We’ve arrived here, and it’s a little bit cold, but it’s a nice track for me; I have good memories from last year. I hope to improve this year; we’re improving in every race, and I hope to be stronger than last year and fight for the maximum that we can do. Balaton, where I was, was much more consistent; we were also fighting for a minimum top five. I’m coming here to do something like that, fight for the top five, and even the podium, why not? It’s cold weather for everyone. I don’t think it’s that important. We have hard tyres for the tarmac, we need to analyse what we will do and try to do long runs in FP2. We are just in Round 5, so I think we will start to talk, but for now, my focus is on my job, which is riding the bike.”
Garrett Gerloff (Kawasaki WorldSBK Team) “We’re continuing to try things out to dial in our window of where we want to be”
Previewing the Czech Round, Gerloff said: “I hope the way we had the bike when we left Balaton Park will work here too, but we won’t know until tomorrow. I’m with Les this year; he knows me really well, he knows what I like, and we’re continuing to try things out to dial in our window of where we want to be. We’ve gotten closer to what feels good to me. With the lack of dry testing, we’re having to figure it out every weekend. At Balaton Park, we ended with a good feeling with the bike, and this track is similar, so hopefully he doesn’t have too much work to do. No new parts yet. We’re hoping to have some stuff for Misano; maybe we can test it there. As far as I know, nothing yet, but luckily, I’m not the one who has to do all that. I have my manager on that, but he’s good at telling me what I need to know. I’d love to be in WorldSBK in 2027. I’ve been here for the last six years, and I’ve enjoyed my time. I’ve had some strong results, and I still have a lot of things I want to accomplish. If I can do some of those things this season, perfect, if not, I’d like to continue with Kawasaki or with a different team, but I’d like to stay in WorldSBK.”
