Bathams AJN Racing switches to Ducati for 2026 BSB
Michael Rutter’s Bathams AJN Racing team has revealed its 2026 BSB plans through a pub-special video for the second year running.
Michael Rutter’s Bathams AJN Racing team has retained Storm Stacey for the 2026 BSB campaign, but the fan-favourite will switch to Ducati machinery.
Stacey rode a BMW M1000 RR last season, however, he endured a difficult middle part of the campaign. Results picked up towards the end of the season for Stacey and the fledgling team, but it wasn’t enough to stop the team from switching to Ducati’s Panigale V4 R for 2026.
In the video below, which follows a similar theme as last year, Rutter is seen serving a customer, who says, “Another one, please, Michael”. Rutter then tells the gentleman that Stacey, who is sitting in the pub, “is still here”. That is a reference to last season, when fan-favourite Stacey ‘bought’ his first pint in the Bathams’ pub. The video eventually leads to Rutter and Stacey heading into a warehouse to view the bike that he will be riding this year.
Here is the full clip for you to enjoy.
Speaking about the team’s decision to retain Stacey, and switch to Ducati machinery, Rutter said:
”Well, if 2025 was a big jump for the team, 2026 is already making that look like a piece of cake. Switching manufacturers and building our bike from a road bike has been a mammoth task, but I truly believe it will be worth it. Along with Storm and everyone else in the team including the sponsors, we felt that in order to move forward from where we got to in 2025, we needed to change the bike.
“Obviously, we considered all options, but the fact that the Ducati is the only superbike to have been upgraded and developed in recent times is what swayed us onto it. Also, there is a long history between me, my dad and Ducati which is a really nice bonus.
“Looking ahead to the 2026 season, the one thing I learned last year was that it’s impossible to know what to expect. I would never have predicted the results we managed last year, not even close, so I’m not about to make any predictions for the Storm/Ducati combination.”
While Stacey was the highest-placed BMW rider in the championship last year (10th). The M1000 RR was not as competitive as the Panigale V4 R, with three Ducatis finishing in the top seven in the standings.
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After graduating with a sports journalism degree, Robert joined Crash.net to lead the WorldSBK coverage in 2021, while also providing MotoGP coverage. Fulfilling that role for over three years, Robert was able to put his knowledge about all things racing to the test.
