“Those closest to” Aron Canet hint at which WorldSBK team suits him best

The noise surrounding Aron Canet in the rider market is getting louder.

The Moto2 rider is being strongly linked with a move to the World Superbike Championship in 2026.

There is a coveted seats available at BMW, because Toprak Razgatlioglu is leaving to go to Pramac in MotoGP.

The Aruba.it Ducati team also have an important vacancy after confirming they will let Alvaro Bautista go after this season.

Canet’s “primary option” was BMW but the Ducati “alternative is much more interesting”, WorldSBK commentator Steve English explained.

“He’d have to sacrifice wages for performance but those closest to Canet have said winning would be the bigger spur,” he wrote.

The Ducati V4R is widely expected to be the best bike on the 2026 WorldSBK grid.

Nicolo Bulega, who lost top spot in the WorldSBK standings to Razgatlioglu last time out at Donington Park, is a perfect example of a rider who adapted from Moto2.

Canet would hope to follow in Bulega’s footsteps on a winning bike if he makes the move too.

Aron Canet 'labelled a gangster' by his critics

Canet has been in Moto2 for five seasons and it took him 69 races to win for the first time in the class.

He is currently second in the Moto2 standings behind Manuel Gonzalez.

Gonzalez and Diogo Moreira are the Moto2 riders most strongly linked to a MotoGP promotion next year.

For Canet, there seems to be little hope despite his standing in the class so far this season.

A year ago, he insisted that his physical appearance put off some MotoGP teams. He wore a bow tie when he won a Moto2 race as a subtle dig at his critics.

“That bow tie goes back to the time I was 20 years old and people looked at me in a bad way, labelling me as a gangster just because of my tattoos and piercings,” Canet said at the time.

“Nowadays it’s considered quite normal and especially young people like it, that is why I put on the bow tie to show that also with tattoos, piercings or even yellow hair, you are not worse than others and you can still be a good person.

“In some way I would like to stand for all those who are discriminated because of their physical appearance.”