Ryan Vickers snaps back at Motocorsa: “We had a two-year contract”

Ryan Vickers has come out in opposition to some of the points and implications made in the announcement confirming his departure from the Motocorsa Ducati team at the end of the 2025 WorldSBK season.

When the announcement was made that Vickers will be leaving the team at the end of the year, Motocorsa Team Manager Lorenzo Mauri said that the contract between the two parties existed on a ‘one-plus-one’ basis, meaning that 2026 was an option, not a guarantee, and implying that the team had simply decided not to exercise that option.

However, Vickers has refuted that, saying that, in fact, the contract was a ‘two-plus-one’ deal, meaning 2026 was included and 2027 was where the option came in.

The British rider also said he was “shocked” by the way the announcement was made also for its implications about Vickers’ performance, which he says he had not been made previously aware of.

“Obviously, the announcement came and we’ve known about it for a little while,” Ryan Vickers told WorldSBK.com on Friday (10 October) at Estoril, following the FP2 session in which he finished fifth-fastest.

“I was a bit shocked with the way the announcement was made, because there was no mention of that there was a two-year deal. 

“We had a two-year contract – plus one, actually. Not one-plus-one. There was a two-year plus one year. 

“The only reason for the split was due to financial reasons from the team’s part, there was nothing to do with performance. I was never informed of anything like this, and I feel like we’ve had a good first year. 

“Some people will say ‘You’re outside of the points,’ and stuff like this, but World Superbike is at its toughest it’s ever been at the moment, and lap times I’ve done and race distance times that I’ve done at circuits this year would’ve won races last year. 

“Honestly, the bike hasn’t changed, really, it’s very much the same, it’s just the riders and the tyres have changed a little bit. 

“It’s a disappointing end to my World Superbike brief start. I’ve enjoyed the time here and hopefully I’ve shown enough that I can return some time in the future.”

Vickers has been linked with a move back to BSB for 2026, but he says that wherever he ends up he wants to be “supported properly”.

“I want a proper situation wherever I go,” he said.

“I want to be valued in the team, I want to be supported properly so that I can achieve the goals I know I can achieve. 

“Whether that’s a step sideways to go two steps up, I don’t know. 

“We’ll know in the coming days whether or not we can announce what maybe is planned, and I hope it can lead to great things.”

A move back to BSB would make Vickers the second promising British rider to step back to the British Championship after a spell in World Superbike, after Bradley Ray departed the Motoxracing Yamaha team at the end of 2024 to make his BSB return this year.

Ray has gone on to win 12 races in his return year to BSB and heads into next weekend’s (17–19 October) final round at Brands Hatch 30 points behind championship leader and reigning champion Kyle Ryde.