Image: Supplied.

Australian prospect Carter Thompson is set to lead Yamaha Racing’s charge into the all-new Sportbike World Championship (WorldSPB) upon its 2026 introduction, signing with the BR Corse team onboard a YZF-R7.

Thompson, 17, pieced together a stellar World Supersport 300 campaign this year, narrowly missing out on the title in P2 after earning three race wins and an additional three podium finishes with MTM Kawasaki.

The incoming WorldSPB division is set to replace Supersport 300 as the World Superbike Championship’s (WorldSBK) entry-level category, with Thompson shifting to the Yamaha R7 and leading the way for the new program.

“2026 marks an exciting new chapter in world championship motorcycle racing with the introduction of the new Sportbike class,” commented Niccolo Canepa, road racing sporting manager of Yamaha Motor Europe.

“We already know the R7 is a great platform for racing from the R7 Cup series across Europe and WorldWCR, and the team here at Yamaha Motor Europe Motorsport R&D has been working hard on developing the race kit for the new Sportbike category.

“Our aim, as always, is to win, and to do this, we have put together a strong rider line-up and are very pleased to have signed 2025 WorldSSP300 runner-up Carter Thompson, a promising young rider with a lot of talent.”

Round one of the new WorldSPB championship will debut at Portimao, Portugal, between March 27-29, with the step marking another chapter in Thompson’s promising young European career.