Toprak Razgatlioglu MotoGP move delay? Ducati close to two rider contracts?

Here are the top World Superbike Championship riders speaking truthfully about the latest contract negotiations regarding their 2026 race seats.

Alvaro Bautista: "I have an agreement..."

Aruba.it Racing Ducati’s Alvaro Bautista has made clear his intentions to continue racing in 2026, saying he has an “agreement” with the Borgo Panigale manufacturer for next season’s WorldSBK campaign.

The two-time World Superbike Champion says that he has an option with Ducati in his current contract, the two parties need only agree to exercise it.

“To be honest, I have an agreement with Ducati for 2025 and 2026,” Bautista told WorldSBK.com ahead of the Czech WorldSBK.

“I just need to say yes from my side and the team needs to say yes from theirs, but the agreement is already signed.

“I have confirmed with the team that I want to keep racing in 2026, and now I’m just waiting for their answer.”

Nicolo Bulega: “My goal is to stay with Ducati”

For Bautista’s championship-leading teammate, Nicolo Bulega, things are more straightforward in some ways, but more complicated in others.

The Italian has won more races than any other rider so far this year, has completed two ‘trebles’, and is therefore a much desired rider. On the other hand, he’s ambitious, and knows that he can use his current performance to gain something more than a factory Ducati World Superbike ride – perhaps a MotoGP testing programme.

Bulega, though, assures his primary target is to stay with Ducati.

“My goal is to stay with Ducati because they give me a great opportunity to become a great Superbike rider, so they help me a lot for this so my goal is to stay with them,” he said.

“But I am only 25-years-old, so I would like to think also about the future. We are talking and we will see.”

He added: “I want to stay focused on World Superbike because now I’m racing here and our goal is to try to win the championship this year and next year, and then we will see.”

Ducati are trying to tempt Bulega with the possibility of a 2027 MotoGP move.

Toprak Razgatlioglu: "One or two weeks" before news

Toprak Razgatlioglu’s future has been a hot topic for many years but especially in 2025, when a MotoGP switch seems to be his priority.

For now, though, things remain “quiet”.

“Now it’s still quiet because still he’s [Kenan Sofuoglu] talking with some brands, but we will see [in] I think one or maybe two weeks,” Razgatliogu said.

It’s worth noting that Sofuoglu said himself that concrete news on Razgatlioglu’s future wold be delivered “soon” when he was at the Dutch WorldSBK at the beginning of April – five weeks ago.

Razgatlioglu has previously spoken about a dream to move to MotoGP.

Yamaha and Honda have been linked.

But Yamaha refuse to co-operate with Razgatlioglu's deadlines. 

And Honda now have the possibility to sign Jorge Martin, which shockingly arose earlier this week. Honda also like Pedro Acosta.

It has been theorised that Razgatlioglu and his manager have talked up MotoGP rumours to get a better contract from BMW to stay put.

Sam Lowes: “First target” to stay with Marc VDS

For Sam Lowes, the progression made from last year to this year, in which he has scored 20 points more after four rounds than he did in all of 2024, has been enough to mean that he would like to stay where he is for the 2026 season.

“I’m very happy,” Lowes said.

“I’ve been in the Marc VDS team a long time. My first target would be to stay there for another season.

“I think [from] last year to this year we’ve made a big step and looking forward to next year.

“I’d have to ask them a little bit, obviously my plan would be to stay on a Ducati, given the series and how competitive it is, but let’s see.

“At the minute, not too much said, but I’m very happy in the team and I think in the next weeks we will know a lot more.”

Petrucci: “Factory bike is a dream, but…”

Danilo Petrucci’s entire WorldSBK career has been with the Barni Ducati team, and the Italian – recognising the strength of his current package – sees no reason to change that for 2026.

“A factory bike is a dream,” said Petrucci, “but I can’t complain with what I have now, because my bike is faster than many factory bikes.

“I found myself really well with Barni, so maybe there’s a chance to race together next year.”

Lecuona: “I know I’m not at my limit”

Iker Lecuona’s injury-hit off-season and beginning of the 2025 season means he knows he has more to find in himself in terms of performance, despite achieving decent results in recent races, including top-sixes in Assen and Cremona.

The result of that is that the Spanish rider is not currently concerning himself with his future beyond this year, when he will be out of contract at HRC.

“I know I can win and fight for the top positions so that is my target,” said Lecuona.

“I am not thinking about a anything else.

“My manager has said he won’t tell me anything until summer, so I don’t know anything, but I don’t want to know anything.

“I’m starting to feel good and work on myself.

“About the future, I don’t really care, I know what I can do on the bike. Even with the bad luck with injuries that I’ve had, I’ve had the capacity to get good results, so I know I’m not at my limit.”