The battle for glory in the 2026 FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup is heating up as the season enters its penultimate event alongside the Italian round of the MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship, with just 14 points splitting the top three riders ahead of the final two races.
While Cremona entered the FIM Superbike World Championship calendar for the first time in 2024, this weekend marks the R3 World Cup’s first visit to the circuit in the North of Italy. However, as the venue of the earlier pre-season test, the riders are all familiar with the 3.450km layout.
While early championship leader Xarly Mendez of the Dominican Republic holds his place atop of the standings, a double victory for Riichi Takahira in Magny-Cours sees the Japanese rider just 11 points behind his rival as he vows to become the series’ first Japanese champion.
Italy’s Emanuele Pastore remains in contention, just 14 points off Mendez’ series lead. With 100 points theoretically still on the table over Cremona and the final round in Estoril, 16 riders are still in with a mathematical chance of winning the title.
Angelo Mottola (Italy), who took a debut victory in the series at Donington Park sits fourth in the standings, 27 points off the lead with the USA’s Chris Clark, equal on points with the Italian, also in contention.
Standout rookie Alessandro Binder (Switzerland) sits sixth in the championship as he continues to seek his debut win in the series.
After a one-event ride in Magny-Cours, Valentino Knezovic joins the grid again this weekend as the only non-regular rider.
Action gets underway on Friday with free practice and Superpole, ahead of the weekend’s two races taking place at 10:20 CEST on Saturday and 10:10 CEST on Sunday, both of which can be watched LIVE on the Yamaha Racing YouTube channel.