NZSBK Season Preview: Wide open and flat out

The decision by defending Superbike class champion Mitch Rees to step away and concentrate on his upcoming Isle of Man TT and British race programme, has left the way open for any number of title contenders – and brands.

Heading the Yamaha R1 challenge will be KMD Racing rider and former champion Al Hoogenboezem, together with teammate Dale Finch. Both are proven race winners.

Rogan Chandler returns for another year on the M1 Motorsport BMW and benefits from going into his second season on the now mandatory official Bridgestone race tyres.

Stepping up from the Supersport 600 class, Luca Durning will be on the second BMW, entered by The Dentists.

Outings late last year suggest Morgan McLaren Wood could be another frontrunner aboard the Bernard Racing Suzuki GSXR.

With Mitch Rees a non-starter and father Tony recovering from a leg injury, it is left to Dave Sharpe to fly the Honda flag aboard his Team Rees CBR1000RR-R.

The dominant Supersport 600 racer from last year, Jake Lewis, returns to defend his #1 plate on the KMD Racing Yamaha R6.

His title challengers could come from at least six riders.

On early season form, Ashton Hughes, riding the Scott Structural Triumph Daytona 675, is ready to give Lewis the hurry-up.

There will also be plenty of interest seeing how D6M riders Cameron Leslie and Logan Rowell and MSS Motorcycles' Keiran Mair fare on the new-for-2026 KTM RC8C.

And don't discount CH Automotive Ducati V2 rider Karl Hooper and Elevate Racing's Haydn Fordyce on a Yamaha R6.

The former Super Twins class has evolved into the new showroom-friendly SportBike class and the last class champion, Luke Ryder, returns on his TR20 Racing Aprilia RS660 facing a big challenge from fast teenagers Tyler King (AVANZ Aprilia 660) and Nixon Frost (TSS Motorcycles Suzuki  GSX8R), along with Blue Wing Honda CBR650R racer Zak Fuller.

There is a significant move towards the Yamaha R7 as the bike of choice in the ProTwins class, though sadly last year's champion Avalon Lewis and runner-up Billee Fuller are missing from the grid at Ruapuna.

While Lewis will return from Australia for the last three rounds, Fuller is electing to take a year out after a gruelling European debut last year.

The 2026 championship is now wide open, though R7 riders Dennis Charlett (Moto Mechanix), Cameron Leslie (D6M) and Marcus Thompson are sure to be frontrunners.

Once again there is a big entry for the 300 Supersport Championship and this year the focus is definitely on rising young talent.

Take your pick from Yamaha R3 racers Hunter Charlett (Optima Chartered Accountants), Nixon Frost (TSS Motorcycles), Seb Mitchell (Bike Link), Harriet Grace (Helicraft Racing), Diego Petrucci (Evolve Moto Training) or Kawasaki-mounted Lucas Hyslop (AVANZ) and KTM's Jethro Bowman.

Rounding out the solo classes, the 150 Supersport Championship has a clear pre-season favourite in Hunter Charlett, already a 150 title holder, though Ryder Chamberlain, who is enjoying mentorship from Kiwi legend Stu Avant, has the talent to surprise.

The crowd-pleasing sidecars promise to put on a great show where defending champion combo Burt Wolland and Vaughan Maine will be under pressure from Spike and Bubba Taylor (Aotea Electric Wairarapa), Phil Law and Angus Ravenwood (Phil Law Panelbeating) and Barry and David Smith (Carl Cox Motorsport).