WorldSSP 300 to be ended as WorldSBK announces new replacement class

WorldSBK has announced the introduction of a new class for the 2026 season to replace the WorldSSP 300 category.

The Sportbike class has not yet been fleshed out entirely, with only vague descriptions of the specifications of the bikes expected to take part.

A statement from WorldSBK reads: “Featuring agile motorcycles with mid-tier capacity engines, this new category promises exciting competition and enhanced opportunities for manufacturers, teams, and riders alike.”

Fans of BSB will be aware of the National Sportbike Championship that replaced the Junior Supersport class (BSB’s SSP 300 equivalent) for 2024, featuring motorcycles such as the Suzuki GSX-8R, Yamaha R7, and Triumph Daytona 660.

It would be reasonable to expect the new Sportbike class to follow BSB in this regard – the Yamaha R7, of course, being used already by WorldSBK in the women-only WorldWCR category.

Confirmation of technical regulations are expected “in due course,” per the previously cited WorldSBK statement.

While it will use larger, faster, more powerful bikes than WorldSSP 300, WorldSBK says that World Sportbike will continue to be a stepping stone towards WorldSSP.

“Building upon the foundations laid by World Supersport 300, World Sportbike aims to further streamline the path for young riders transitioning towards World Supersport,” the series says.

The end of WorldSSP 300

The WorldSSP 300 class was announced as ending at the end of 2025 already during the 2024 season.

It’s a class that has seen moderate success, with riders such as Manuel Gonzalez and Adrian Huertas moving onto the Moto2 World Championship, which Gonzalez is currently leading and to which Huertas moved as Supersport World Champion.

It was also the class which saw Ana Carrasco become the first woman to win a solo FIM World Championship in 2018.

However, it is also a class which has seen multiple rider fatalities since it was introduced in 2017, with many of those at least in part attributed to the close nature of the racing in the class which regularly sees 20 riders battling in the front group.