Chris Clark – the first American to win a race in the Yamaha R3 BLU CRU World Cup – will return to Europe for the 2026 season with his hopes set firmly on the title he narrowly missed in 2025.
 

Remaining with the Panattoni BGR Smrz Racing squad for a third consecutive year, the #5 American rider looks to build on a successful 2025 that saw him finish fifth overall with three podium finishes including a maiden win in the season opener. 
 

With a full year’s experience under his belt Chris is determined to once again be at the sharp end when the six round, twelve race series gets underway in May. 
 

Testing will begin in Spain in the coming weeks. 
 

Further announcements regarding his 2026 partners will follow in due course. 
 

Chris Clark: “I am super happy to finally announce my 2026 and am super happy to be remaining with the Panattoni BGR Smrz Racing team. 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 last 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!”