Triumph Daytona 660 Set for World Sportbike Debut in Portimão
The Triumph Daytona 660 is set for its world stage debut this weekend as CM Triumph Factory Racing and PHR Performance Triumph prepare for action at the 2026 FIM Sportbike World Championship season opener in Portimão, Portugal.
Having already made a statement in racing championships around the world, the triple-powered 660 machine heads to the World Championship in 2026, with four Daytona 660’s ready to compete across eight rounds.
Heading the CM Triumph Factory Racing effort, Bruno Ieraci is no stranger to piloting the 660 to Championship glory. The 25-year-old Italian stormed to the Dunlop CIV 2025 Italian Sportbike Championship, demonstrating the strong performance the Daytona 660 package holds. Ieraci is joined by former Moto3™ World Championship rider Elia Bartolini, a three-time European and four-time Italian Champion in his own right.
Meanwhile, Factory-Supported PHR Performance Triumph will be flying the British flag in the new series. Headed by Triumph’s road racing star Peter Hickman, the Lincolnshire-based team enters the new season full of motivation after two promising years of action in the Pirelli National Sportbike Championship in the United Kingdom.
The team secured the first-ever Sportbike Championship in 2024, with Richard Cooper dominating throughout the series on his way to becoming British Champion. In 2025, the Daytona 660 continued to feature at the forefront of the championship, with Harrison Dessoy securing podiums and a race victory aboard the sporty triple.
2026 sees Dessoy return to the squad, aiming to take his knowledge from the British Championship to the World Championship. The number 55 rider will partner Fenton Seabright, another front-running rider in both the British and World Championship paddocks.
With all four riders having completed the official test in Portimão this week, both CM Triumph Factory Racing and PHR Performance Triumph are eager for strong results this weekend, with each of their riders fine-tuning their Daytona machines ahead of the season opener. Dessoy posted the fastest Triumph time with Ieraci, Seabright and Bartolini running inside the top 20.
An addition to the FIM Superbike World Championship calendar for 2026, the Sportbike World Championship is guaranteed bar-to-bar racing, exciting drama and high-class action, something the paddock has thrived upon since its inception in 1988.
The Championship kicks off just days after Triumph Motorcycles pulled the covers off the all-new Daytona 660, a race-proven 660cc triple.
The Daytona 660 won’t be the only Triumph model on track this weekend, with PTR Triumph Factory Racing and the Street Triple 765 RS returning to Supersport action following a short break after their opening round.
The season opener in Phillip Island, Australia proved fruitful for Simon Buckmaster’s squad, with Oli Bayliss clinching his first podium result. The weekend didn’t pan out as hoped for Tom Booth-Amos, but strong speed and consistency aboard the Triumph Street Triple 765 RS will give the British rider confidence heading into their second race event of the 2026 season this weekend.
Track action begins on Friday with the first-ever Sportbike Practice session getting underway at 09:40 local time.
Portimão Schedule
Friday
WorldSPB Practice: 09:40-10:05
WorldSSP Practice: 11:20-12:00
WorldSPB Superpole: 14:10-14:35
WorldSSP: Superpole: 16:00-16:40
Saturday
WorldSPB Warm Up: 09:20-09:30
WorldSSP Warm Up: 10:10-10:20
WorldSPB Race 1: 13:00
WorldSSP Race 1: 14:00
Sunday
WorldSPB Warm Up: 09:35-09:45
WorldSSP Warm Up: 09:55-10:05
WorldSPB Race 1: 13:00
WorldSSP Race 1: 14:00
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FIM Sportbike World Championship calendar
Round 1: Portuguese Round (Portimão)
Round 2: Dutch Round (Assen)
Round 3: Czech Round (Most)
Round 4: Aragon Round (Aragon)
Round 5: Emilia-Romagna Round (Misano)
Round 6: French Round (Magny Cours)
Round 7: Italian Round (Cremona)
Round 8: Spanish Round (Jerez)
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Bruno Ieraci - CM Triumph Factory Racing
“I’m very excited to be representing Triumph in the FIM Sportbike World Championship. We are one of four bikes on the grid and it’s an honour. We’ll try our best to put Triumph at the top and make progress over the season. We’ll try our best every race weekend and make pushes forward each weekend.”
Elia Bartolini - CM Triumph Factory Racing
“I’m very happy to be riding in this Championship, it’s an honour to be riding the official Triumph Daytona 660 in the World Sportbike class. I’m ready for the challenge, we’ll try to battle for the podium positions this season and help put Triumph on top of the world.”
Harrison Dessoy - PHR Performance Triumph
“It’s super special to be representing the Triumph brand and the PHR Performance Triumph team in the first-ever World Sportbike Championship. We have a package that I’m really happy with thanks to the experience gained at British Superbikes. We had a strong test on Monday and I’m looking forward to making more progress this weekend and doing as well as we can all year long.”
Fenton Seabright - PHR Performance Triumph
“I’m really excited to start the season with the PHR Performance Triumph. It’s a great opportunity that Pete (Hickman) has set up - with British riders on British bikes. We’re going to work weekend-by-weekend together with Harrison to make progress and see where we’re at the end of the season.”
Ian Kimber, Head of Global Racing Programmes
“This weekend marks an exciting chapter in Triumph history as the Daytona 660 heads to the world stage for the first time. Bruno has ridden the 660 to championship glory in the CIV Sportbike Championship and we’ve seen promising results in the National Sportbike Championship in the UK in recent years, with Richard Cooper winning its debut season in the BSB Championship and PHR Performance running at the front in 2025 with Harrison too – so there’s a lot of potential within the Daytona 660 package. We have been working hard with the teams to ensure it’s a competitive package, building on the knowledge we have collected from the 660’s racing activities around the world. I’m eager to see how Bruno, Elia, Harrison and Fenton progress aboard the CM Triumph Factory Racing and PHR Performance Triumph Daytona 660’s in 2026 in this brand new Sportbike World Championship.”
