Two weeks on from the Assen round, and the Kawasaki WorldSBK Team and Kawasaki WorldSSP Team prepare to head back on track, at Hungary’s Balaton Park Circuit.
This May event is the first of three closely scheduled rounds, which will bring the two championships to the mid-point of the 2026 season.
In Superbike, work continues for Garrett Gerlof and his team as they seek the best setup for their 2026 Ninja ZX-10RR. Results at the latest Assen round did not meet with expectation but nevertheless form part of a growth process that should soon start to pay off.
In Supersport, Dominique Aegerter and Jeremy Alcoba are now regularly placing inside the top ten, but their goals are more ambitious. At Balaton Park they will each be looking to score their first podium of the season.
Located in a tourist area alongside Lake Balaton, the Balaton Park Circuit offers 48 garages, VIP areas, a large media centre, a medical centre and two support paddocks in addition to the main paddock. A 4-star hotel with 145 rooms is being built inside the circuit. The track was constructed in accordance with the highest safety standards and is complete with “Tecpro” barriers.
The track measures 4.115 km in length with a total of 16 turns, six right and ten left. Pole position is to the left. This is the second time the Hungarian circuit is hosting the production-derived championship.
The full schedule for the Hungarian round is available at this link:
Manuel Puccetti – Team Principal
“The Balaton round is the first in a series of closely scheduled races and, once again this weekend, I’m confident that we can continue along the path to development and improvement that we’re traveling. The Hungarian track suits the characteristics of our bikes and so I’m optimistic, with regard to both Superbike and Supersport.”
Garrett Gerloff
“This Balaton round comes at the right moment, giving us chance to make up for the Assen races where we didn’t achieve what we deserved. I don’t have good memories of this track, as I was involved in a group crash here last year and had to sit out the final race. Our goal is to quickly find a good setup for our Ninja, the characteristics of which should suit this winding and technical track quite well.”
Jeremy Alcoba
“Last year we only scored a few points in Hungary, but I have to say I like the track, and after positive races at Assen and improvements made to our Ninja, I think we can have a different weekend, battling at the front. I’m highly motivated and am pleased we now have three rounds one after the other, because it means I can spend more time on the bike, learning to exploit its full potential.”
Dominique Aegerter
“The Balaton track, which I saw for the first time last season, is very technical with many chicanes. I was riding in Superbike, so it’ll be different this time of course, competing in Supersport. I’ve trained hard in recent weeks, also competing in some MX races in Switzerland and making some laps with the training ZX-6R 636 at a small track here in Switzerland. Our goal, as ever, is to keep improving and become more competitive. We’ll need to find good feeling and the best setup for our bike as quickly as possible, if we want to aim for a top five finish in the two races.”
