Triumph and PHR Performance announce World Sportbike lineup
A factory–backed PHR Performance squad will field two Daytona 660s in the inaugural Sportbike World Championship, with Dessoy and Seabright leading the charge.
Triumph’s racing focus sharpens for 2026 with confirmation that Peter Hickman’s PHR Performance squad will step up to the all-new FIM Sportbike World Championship, running a pair of Daytona 660s with factory support.
You may also like to read our Triumph Daytona 660 review - 2024.
The team’s rider line-up will be familiar to anyone following the British series this year: Harrison Dessoy and Fenton Seabright, both fresh from strong campaigns in the National Sportbike Championship, will be leading the charge.
For Triumph, the move signals a natural progression. The Daytona 660 has already proved itself at home in the UK paddock, and now the firm wants the same story on a global platform. For PHR, it’s a rapid leap from domestic success to a full factory-backed world championship.
Harrison Dessoy arrives with meaningful experience already on the Daytona, having raced with PHR in the British championship this year. The Essex rider claimed two wins and two further podiums before injury cut short his title fight. His development on the Triumph has been sharp, and his call-up to the world championship comes just one season after joining Hickman’s team.
Harrison Dessoy – PHR Performance:
“I’m very excited to be taking part in the 2026 World Sportbike campaign, it’s a great opportunity for me, and also for my current team with Leon and Micky. When I joined PHR it was a new challenge for me and a big step up into the British Championship, and now, just after one year to be going into a World Championship, I’m stupidly excited and I think it will be a fantastic season. A huge thanks to Pete [Hickman] and the team at Triumph for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to race in the world scene”.
Joining him will be Fenton Seabright, who finished third in this year’s National Sportbike standings. With three wins and three podiums to his name, Seabright brings a record that suggests he’ll be a threat from the start, particularly as he already knows many of the circuits from a previous spell racing on the world stage.
Fenton Seabright – PHR Performance:
“I’m really looking forward to 2026, a move back to the World Superbike Championship is what we’ve been working towards since moving back to the British Superbike paddock in the Sportbike class, so I’m really happy with that. I’m hoping that working with Pete [Hickman] and the PHR Performance team will allow me to fight at the front, win some races and have a shot of the WorldSPB crown.”
Peter Hickman’s relationship with Triumph has run through Daytona 200 outings, the Isle of Man TT, and road racing machinery development. PHR’s involvement in creating the Daytona 660 race package helped carry Richard Cooper to last year’s National Sportbike title, and Dessoy’s success this season only strengthens the team’s resolve.
Peter Hickman – PHR Performance:
“I’m really excited about the opportunity for PHR Performance entering into a World Championship for the very first time, which was never really on the cards or a thought process I’d ever had. But the opportunity has arisen, and I think we’re in the strongest position we could ever be in, having worked with the Triumph Daytona 660 for two years in the British Championship. We won with Richard [Cooper] in 2024 and won a few races this year with Harrison, and if it hadn’t been for his injury we could have won the championship, so I don’t think we could be in a stronger position. We don’t know the circuits, but Fenton does and Harrison knows about half of them, but he knows the bike inside out, as do we. I’m really looking forward to it and having Fenton onboard, it’s a super young team; everyone is under 22 years old - the mechanics, electronics and the riders, so it’s going to be an exciting time not only for PHR Performance but also for all the boys and also Triumph.”
Triumph sees the new Sportbike category as an ideal way to showcase not just the Daytona 660, but the riders it has helped develop. With a clear path emerging from national level to global competition, the British brand appears eager to stake its claim early.
Steve Sargent – Chief Product Development Officer, Triumph Motorcycles:
“We’re excited to be going into the inaugural FIM Sportbike World Championship next season with PHR Performance and rising stars Harrison Dessoy and Fenton Seabright. Supporting young talent has always been central to Triumph’s philosophy, and championships like this play a crucial role in giving the next generation the platform they need. Harrison and Fenton’s progression shows the strength of the pathway to the world stage, and we’re proud to help turn their potential into performance as we look to the future of the sport. Peter has played a vital role with the development of the Daytona 660, which saw PHR win the championship last year with Richard Cooper, as well as wins and podium finishes this year with Harrison.”
The inaugural round of the 2026 FIM Sportbike World Championship takes place at Portimao on 27–29 March. Two young riders, a proven bike, and a team that’s learned to win at home—now they all get to find out what that looks like on the world stage.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
