After becoming the first American to win a race in the FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup and very nearly winning the season championship in the Yamaha spec series, former MotoAmerica Mini Cup rider Chris Clark will return to Europe for the 2026 season with high hopes of bringing home the championship.
Clark will remain with Panattoni BGR Smrz Racing for a third consecutive year and, with a full year’s experience under his belt in the highly competitive R3 BLU CRU World Cup, the 18-year-old from Fairfax, Virginia, is determined to race for the season title when the six-round, twelve-race series gets underway in May.
“I am super-happy to finally announce my 2026 plans and am super-happy to be remaining with Panattoni BGR Smrz Racing,” Clark said. “To be able to continue to work with Kuba (Smrz) and all the same guys as I have for the past couple of seasons is really special. We built a solid foundation over the past two years, and I am so grateful to Kuba especially for giving me a shot to move to the WorldSBK paddock and continuing to stick with me. I have learned so much, and I am ready to put it all into practice. I want to be fighting for wins at every round and, as much as I want to win the title, I want to win it for them. As a team, we have a good chance. We work well together, and I hope that, this year, we can bring it home. I want to also thank everyone who has made this possible, especially my mom, my manager, and my sponsors. See you at Round One!”
Testing for the 2026 FIM Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup will begin in Spain in the coming weeks.
