Mattia Rato enjoys “incredible” first WorldSBK experience but “I’m too slow”

Almost immediately after his surprise announcement as Michael Ruben Rinaldi’s replacement at the MotoxRacing Yamaha team for the 2026 WorldSBK season, Mattia Rato was able to get his first taste of WorldSBK machinery.

The step 20-year-old Rato will take in 2026 should not be underestimated, as he moves from the CIV Italian Supersport Championship to the World Superbike class, and whose best ever finish of sixth place came with Bradley Ray over two years ago in Imola where the British rider finished sixth.

Aware of what faces him, Rato was able to begin his adaptation to WorldSBK and 1,000cc machinery at the post-race test at Jerez on 21–22 October, ending the opening day there on a 1:41.243, over three seconds behind the best time of Nicolo Bulega and almost five seconds behind the Superpole lap record Bulega set the previous weekend to take pole position for the final round of 2025.

“It was incredible,” Rato said, speaking to WorldSBK.com after his one and only day of testing in Jerez, Yamaha electing not to take part in the second day of the post-race test.

“The power, the electronics – all new for me. 

“But the thing that’s more difficult and more strange is the braking. 

“This bike brakes a lot and in a second you are slow, too slow, and I need to improve that.”

Rato wasn’t thrilled with his performance on his first day, but he ended it with the belief that he can improve with time and become more competitive.

“I always want to do a better lap,” he said after Tuesday in Jerez, “but I know it’s difficult here also because they do the race [the weekend before the test] and they have another level.

“Step-by-step I think I can do better than today.”

He added: “I want to start now, but now I’m too slow. So, I wait to test and also to test alone with my bike because this 1,000cc is too much at the moment.”