Stefano Manzi impresses on Yamaha WorldSBK test debut: “He adapted very quickly”

The post-season WorldSBK test in Jerez provided the first opportunity for many riders to try their new bikes for the 2026 season, and those riders included Stefano Manzi who impressed Yamaha management on his first day.

Manzi, like all the Yamaha World Superbike riders, rode only the first day of the two-day Jerez test, but it was his second day on the YZF-R1 after testing in Misano earlier in the year.

The Italian, who won the 2025 Supersport World Championship, slots into the GRT team for next season, and his adaptation to the Superbike-spec R1 has been impressive to Yamaha Motor Europe Road Racing Division Manager Niccolo Canepa.

“Stefano [Manzi] did a fantastic job today because he already tested the bike just for one day earlier in the season, but it’s not easy to step up in Superbike – it’s always challenging,” Canepa said, speaking to WorldSBK.com. 

“His lap time was very good, he adapted very quickly, and we are very happy. 

“For sure, he’s a World Champion, so we know that he’s going to be fast next year but it’s important to start on the right foot.”

“I just tried to spin as many laps as possible” 

The first day of 2026 was relatively simple for Manzi, as he just tried to get as much mileage as possible on the YZF-R1 with minimal changes being made to the bike, something he expects to experiment with more in November when he and Yamaha will test in Jerez again.

“It was super,” he told WorldSBK.com. “I enjoyed a lot. I just tried to spin as [many] laps as possible.

“We were a bit unlucky in the morning because there were some drops of rain, but in the end it was sunny in the afternoon and I spin 95 laps so I’m quite happy. 

“In the end, it was not bad also my performance on the bike but I still have to learn and improve the riding style on the bike. I’m quite happy.”

He added: “The testing programme was just to spin as many laps as possible and not touch the bike. 

“So, we have a lot of work to do but we will do it at the next test in November when we come back here on the 26th and 27th. 

“So, at the moment we don’t touch [anything], I just moved the front brake lever up and down and that’s it. So, we have a lot of work to do.”

On the November test, he added: “Maybe we start to find out some new setting and adapt a bit the bike to myself because today I just tried to adapt myself to the bike. But we will see.”

Gardner managing shoulder injury

Manzi’s teammate for 2026 will be Remy Gardner, who has been retained for a third season at GRT. 

But the Australian completed only a few laps in Jerez. Canepa explained that this was due to the management of his shoulder injury that was sustained in his crash with Jonathan Rea in the Superpole Race at the final round of 2025.

“He’s [Gardner] not feeling 100 per cent, he still has pain to his shoulder so we decided to stop, use just a half-day,” Canepa said.

“We will use the days of testing next year or in November when he will feel better. 

“He needs some time now to recover after the crash on Sunday and we didn’t have so many items for him to test today so that’s why it’s like this.”