Strong Signs for Yamaha as 2026 BSB Season Takes Shape at Donington Test
The first official test of the 2026 British Superbike Championship got underway at Donington Park this week. For Yamaha UK, the two days of track time delivered a host of positives ahead of the season opener.
After a progressive six sessions across Friday and Saturday, it was Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha and Danny Kent who ended the first test of the year as top Yamaha. He completed 105 laps and finished second overall with a fastest time of 1:27.469.
Kent’s teammate, Rory Skinner, finished the two days on track in third. He clocked a best lap of 1:27.499, just 0.3 seconds shy of the top spot.
For officially-supported crew McAMS Yamaha and Brad Ray, the Donington Park test presented an opportunity to further refine an already confident feeling aboard the R1 superbike. Working through a concise testing plan, the 28-year-old wrapped up the test in fifth with a 1:27.638.
Christian Iddon and the SENCAT Racing squad leave Donington Park with a seventh-place overall finish.
In the Quattro Group British Supersport Championship, it was McAMS Yamaha’s Harry Truelove who appeared as the stand-out rider across the two days of testing. He ended the test in third place overall. The Lincolnshire rider continued to find his feet aboard the all-new package, registering a fastest lap time of 1:31.215.
McAMS Yamaha’s Australian Rider, Ben Currie, rounded off the test in fourth. He picked up nicely from where he left off in Andalucía two weeks ago.
As the paddock heads to Oulton Park in just under two weeks time for the final test of the year, Yamaha’s riders across both BSB and BSS championships carry a sense of optimism. With the season fast approaching, hopes are high for a strong start to the year.
Danny Kent
Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha
“It’s been a successful test. Thanks a lot to my team at Cheshire Mouldings Yamaha for their hard work across the last two days. It’s been a good test for us, we worked through a good plan and managed to find a really confident feeling. The weather conditions haven’t helped with very heavy winds today, but we pushed through that and managed to show good speed regardless. We’ve got some areas to improve on before racing gets underway, so we head to Oulton Park with determination.”
Bradley Ray
McAMS Yamaha
“It’s been a long but positive couple of days trying to extract more performance out of the Yamaha R1. The bike is already strong, as we know, but these tests are always about squeezing that extra bit out of its potential. We found a good direction throughout the test, so we’ll relay everything and return to Oulton Park to pick up where we left off. Thanks to the boys at McAMS Yamaha for all of the hard work over the last two days.”
Harry Truelove
McAMS Yamaha
“It’s been a really positive test for us. My feeling on the Yamaha R9 is amazing, and it’s coming very naturally to me at this point – we found a really nice feeling from the first session yesterday, so the last two days have just been about refining that even more. To end the test in such a strong way gives me a lot of confidence heading into the Oulton Park test and Round 1. Thanks a lot to the McAMS Yamaha guys for all of their efforts, excited to get back in a couple of weeks.”