BMW numbers reduced for BSB 2026 as one team announces major change

The Bathams AJN team has announced a switch from BMW to Ducati machinery for the 2026 BSB season.

Swapping BMW for Ducati in 2026 means that only the 8Ten Racing and MLav Racing teams remain with the M1000 RR in BSB this year, while Bathams joins PBM, Moto Rapido, and Nitrous Competitions on the Panigale V4 R, the latter also making the switch to Ducati for this year.

The announcement of the bike change came along with the confirmation of the retention of Storm Stacey, who admitted that the change of bike was a factor in his decision to extend his time with the team after achieving a best result of fourth in 2025.

“2025 was mega for me and being able to race further towards the front of the field in the top five regularly was such a boost for me,” said Stacey.

“The team was new to me, but I can’t fault their effort and the atmosphere, so staying with them for 2026 was a pretty easy decision, especially with the switch to Ducati happening too.

“At the time of this press release, the bike is 98 per cent built and ready to test, so you can imagine just how keen I am to throw a leg over it and see what the fuss is all about, which will be very soon.”

Team owner Michael Rutter added: “Well, if 2025 was a big jump for the team, 2026 is already making that look like a piece of cake. Switching manufacturers and building our bike from a road bike has been a mammoth task, but I truly believe it will be worth it. 

“Along with Storm and everyone else in the team, including the sponsors, we felt that in order to move forward from where we got to in 2025, we needed to change the bike.

“Obviously, we considered all options, but the fact that the Ducati is the only superbike to have been upgraded and developed in recent times is what swayed us onto it. Also, there is a long history between me, my dad and Ducati which is a really nice bonus.

“Looking ahead to the 2026 season, the one thing I learned last year was that it’s impossible to know what to expect. I would never have predicted the results we managed last year, not even close, so I’m not about to make any predictions for the Storm and Ducati combination.

“All I can say is that on paper at least, we should be able to make a step forward from where we were last year, plus as a team we learned a massive amount which will also count for something this year.

“Like a lot of people, I’m extremely keen to get Storm onto the bike as soon as we can and start getting all our heads around it. One thing is for sure; it’s not going to be dull.”