WorldSBK star Nicolo Bulega dominated the 2026 Lenovo Race of Champions at World Ducati Week, converting pole position into a commanding victory at Misano. Riding identical Panigale V4 machinery, Bulega defeated the entire field, finishing ahead of Alberto Surra and Lorenzo Baldassarri. MotoGP top guns Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez finished a cautious fifth and twelfth, respectively.
Honda HRC claimed victory at the rain-shortened 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours, the third round of the FIM Endurance World Championship. Takumi Takahashi, Jonathan Rea and Somkiat Chantra led home Yamaha Factory Racing in second and BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team in third. YART Yamaha finished fourth ahead of AutoUbe, SERT, Suzuki CN Challenge, SDG HARC-PRO, Astemo Honda and Team ATJ. The result extends Honda’s Suzuka winning streak to five consecutive years.
Six-time WorldSBK champion Jonathan Rea led Team HRC to pole position for the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours. Setting the weekend's fastest single lap at 2m 04.422s, Rea teamed with Takumi Takahashi and Somkiat Chantra to lock down the top spot. A rain-cancelled Saturday Top 10 Trial ensured their Friday two-rider average time of 2m 04.738s secured pole.
Honda Racing UK claimed both the Solo Team Championship and Solo Manufacturer Championship awards at TT 2026, with Dean Harrison’s two race wins the foundation of their success. John McGuinness added a fifth place in the Superbike TT to the team points total, with Josh Brookes, Jamie Coward, Nathan Harrison and Mike Browne all contributing to the manufacturer standings. Michael Dunlop also rode Honda machinery at the event, boosting the manufacturer points further. A clean sweep for the Red Wing.
Irish rider James Chawke won the Monster Energy People’s Challenger Award at TT 2026 with 42% of the public vote. The 2018 Junior Manx Grand Prix winner had a solid week on the island, taking a best finish of 22nd in the Sportbike race and winning a bronze replica in all five solo races. Chawke also set a new personal best lap at 125.909mph during the Superbike TT. The people chose well. A popular winner across the entire road racing community.
Twenty year old Rhys Stephenson won the Vernon Cooper Newcomers Trophy and the RST Star of Tomorrow award at TT 2026, becoming the youngest rider in the event’s field this year. Stephenson set a best lap of 114.073mph and finished 24th in the Sportbike race to claim his first bronze replica despite limited track time during race week. He impressed throughout the event with his attitude and his commitment to learning the Mountain Course properly on every single lap.
Michael Dunlop matched Dean Harrison with seven trophies at TT 2026, claiming the Supersport double and the Sportbike Race 1 victory. His wins earned him the TT Supporters Club Trophy for overall Supersport honours, the Gavin Lee Trophy for Sportbike, the Joe Craig Trophy for a new Sportbike lap record at 124.530mph and the Martin Finnegan Trophy for the fastest lap by an Irish rider. Dunlop has won that Irish lap trophy every year since 2010.
Dean Harrison walked away from TT 2026 as the most decorated rider of the week, claiming seven trophies in total. The Honda rider won the Superbike and Senior TT races, the Joey Dunlop Trophy as overall big bike winner and four fastest lap awards including the Jimmy Simpson Trophy for the fastest lap of race week at 135.166mph. Harrison also set the quickest Supersport lap at 129.218mph. Seven trophies. Two race wins. The clear man of the meeting.
Dean Harrison and Michael Dunlop dominated the TT 2026 award ceremony, winning seven trophies each despite a weather disrupted race week. Harrison walked away as the top cash earner at £66,510, winning the Superbike and Senior TT races while Dunlop collected £48,600 for three race wins including a 10th consecutive Supersport victory. Honda Racing UK won both the Solo Team Championship and Solo Manufacturer Championship awards. Barry Furber won the Privateer’s Cup. Rhys Stephenson, 20, took the Vernon Cooper Newcomers Trophy at 114.073mph.
The 2026 MotoGP championship took a dramatic turn at Balaton Park. Marc Marquez took 25 points out of Marco Bezzecchi’s title lead after winning the Hungarian Grand Prix while the Aprilia riders crashed out of the race at Turn 1. Bezzecchi remains the championship leader but with Marquez closing rapidly, Acosta in fourth and Di Giannantonio only six points clear of Acosta in third. Bezzecchi leads Martin by 20 points at the top. Six rounds. Everything is changing.