Albert Arenas and Aldi Satya Mahendra to Race in WorldSSP with AS Racing and Yamaha R9 in 2026.
Yamaha Motor Europe is pleased to confirm Andrea Quadranti’s AS Racing team will switch to the championship-winning Yamaha R9 for the 2026 FIM Supersport World Championship with an exciting new rider line-up of Albert Arenas and Aldi Satya Mahendra.
With over a decade competing in the Supersport World Championship and Superbike World Championship, AS Racing are one of the most experienced teams on the WorldSSP grid and join Yamaha boasting a rich history of success with multiple podiums and race victories in the class.
2020 Moto3 World Champion Albert Arenas joins the new-look team as he moves to World Supersport from the Grand Prix paddock for 2026. Currently ninth in the 2025 Moto2 World Championship, the 28-year-old Spaniard is a six-time Grand Prix race winner and will be looking to make a mark in the Supersport Championship next year, aiming to emulate the path taken by Stefano Manzi and Andrea Locatelli, who both won World Supersport titles with Yamaha after moving from Moto2.
Arenas will be joined at AS Racing by Aldi Satya Mahendra, who enters his second season in the Supersport World Championship. Mahendra, who has progressed through the Yamaha ranks from the R3 BLU CRU World Cup, graduated to WorldSSP after winning the 2024 WorldSSP300 Championship and impressed in his rookie season with a best result of fifth place. A late-season injury halted progress for Mahendra, but the Indonesian will be looking to become a consistent podium-challenger in his second year in the class.
The strong AS Racing line-up completes Yamaha’s stable of supported WorldSSP teams, with the Italian outfit joining the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team of Can Öncü and Yuki Okamoto and GMT94 Yamaha who will run Roberto Garcia and Lucas Mahias as Yamaha look to build on their ‘Triple Crown’ success in an incredible debut season with the all-new R9 in 2025.
Niccolò Canepa
Road Racing Sporting Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe
“2025 was an incredible season for Yamaha in World Supersport, winning the rider, manufacturers and teams’ championship with the all-new R9. This success was a reflection of the quality of our teams and riders, and in adding Andrea Quadranti’s AS Racing team to our line-up for 2026 only strengthens our presence. The team have achieved a lot of success in WorldSSP over the years and we are pleased to welcome them to Yamaha. We have seen over the years how strong riders moving from the Grand Prix paddock can be in World Supersport, so we are excited about the signing of Albert Arenas. Already a World Champion, Albert’s talent is unquestionable, and we cannot wait to see him on the R9. Aldi Mahendra is a rider we are all incredibly proud of, as he has been with Yamaha throughout his career, stepping up from the R3 BLU CRU World Cup to WorldSSP300 and then WorldSSP, where he impressed as a rookie last year before his injury. With a year of experience, he should be able to take a step to fight for the podium consistently making for a very strong line-up in the new AS Racing team.”
Andrea Quadranti
Team Principal, AS Racing
“We are very happy to be joining Yamaha for the 2026 FIM Supersport World Championship. Yamaha are a manufacturer who have been dominant in the Supersport category since the start and have won more world titles than any other manufacturer in the class. The R9 impressed us all last year with how competitive it was from the first race and we are really excited to start our new chapter. Regarding the riders, it looks just a perfect combination to me. Aldi Mahendra was very impressive as a rookie in 2025 and Albert has shown a great motivation for the start of his new adventure, beside the fact that he has been already a World Champion during his career and he still showing great results even in Moto2. We are pleased to welcome both to our team for 2026 and we cannot wait to get started with this new project!”
Albert Arenas
“I am very happy to join Yamaha with the new AS Racing team in World Supersport. It’s a new challenge and championship for me, and it’s a big opportunity for me to build my racing career and return to winning ways. I arrive with a lot of motivation and the mentality of wanting to keep growing as a rider. My objective is clear; to be as competitive as possible and ride to the best of my ability. To be part of an official structure with the support of Yamaha is something that motivates me and I trust a lot in the potential of the project and I want to thank Yamaha, and the team, for the trust and confidence in me. It will be an exciting new journey and I’m very excited.”
Aldi Satya Mahendra
“First of all, I’d like to thank everyone for trusting me to return to racing next year after my injury. I learned a lot in 2025 and I will look to make the most of that next season, working as hard as I can to improve on last year. To join a new team is also exciting and I am looking forward to getting started with winter testing!”
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