Cullybackey teenager Peter Willis ready for next step in racing career with switch to British Sportbike class in 2026
Cullybackey teenager Peter Willis is confident he can make the transition into the British Sportbike Championship this year after five seasons racing in the British Talent Cup, which has been rebranded as the Moto4 British Cup for 2026.
The 17-year-old earned his maiden BTC victory last year on the big stage at the Silverstone MotoGP round and went on to finish seventh overall in the championship.
Willis will ride for the CFMOTO Moto Twelve team on a 675 SRR machine and can’t wait to get started as he gears up for a new challenge this year.
“Off-season, it’s been good to get a break after a long, busy season but I can’t wait to get my season started,” he told the Grassroots to Grand Prix podcast.
“It’s nice to do something new and move to the CFMOTO 675 SRR for next season and it’s going to be a good bike and a capable bike.
“Knowing all the tracks now and moving up to a bigger bike – over here (Northern Ireland) I’ve been riding a 600 a lot – so moving to a CFMOTO bike is on the same level in a way, because I’ve already been riding a 600, so I know what it’s going to handle like.
“It’s just more about adapting to each track with braking markers, but it will be nicer moving up because a bigger bike is faster and I’ve always enjoyed riding bigger bikes.
“If you can ride a Moto3 bike well, then it makes riding any other bike slightly easier because you can understand it more.”
Looking back on his final season in the British Talent Cup, Willis said his experience of competing in the series will stand him in good stead for the next chapter of his career.
“It was good to win at Silverstone because that was sort of the main race of the season. It’s my sort of track because it’s long and flowing,” he said.
“I always enjoyed it and I think last year was my fifth year, but the main thing I learnt is that it gets quicker and quicker every year, lap records get broken, and if you don’t progress in lap times and stay where you are, you’re not going to progress.
“It’s about having to adapt to each season getting quicker and that was the main thing: to get quicker every season.”
The World Sportbike Championship replaces the World Supersport 300 class as the entry-level series in the WSBK paddock in 2026 and Willis admits his dream is to one day progress to world level.
“Sportbike is moving into Worlds so the route now would maybe be to go British Sportbike and then who knows, maybe do some world wildcards, and after that go to World Sportbike,” he said.
“But there are so many different routes you just have to take it as it comes, but either Worlds or MotoGP [is his ambition].
Hailing from Northern Ireland, Willis was asked the inevitable question over whether he would ever consider competing on the roads at the likes of the North West 200, but the teenager said it wasn’t something currently on his radar.
“I do like them but I wouldn’t race them – I wouldn’t trust myself in a way!” added Willis, who works at HTM Motorcycles in Cullybackey.
“Too many lampposts, walls and kerbs to hit instead of a gravel trap if you crash.
“I don’t mind watching them but I wouldn’t be racing them.”