PHOTOS BY BRIAN J NELSON

KORNBAU TAKES IT ALL AT COTA

A COTA double, a last-lap championship pass and one final dose of Super Hooligan chaos close out the 2026 season. It all came down to Texas.

After a season that started on the high banks of Daytona and tore through Barber, The Ridge, Laguna Seca and Mid-Ohio, the 2026 Mission Super Hooligan National Championship arrived at Circuit of The Americas with everything still on the line.

BPR Racing Yamaha teammates Andy DiBrino and Bryce Kornbau entered the finale separated by just five points, with Gus Rodio still mathematically alive in third. Two races remained. Fifty points were available. And after an entire season of trading wins, lap records and inches of racetrack, the championship was about to be decided between two riders sharing the same garage.

By Sunday afternoon, Bryce Kornbau had done exactly what he needed to do.

Two races.

Two wins.

One championship.

COTA SUPERHOOLIGAN - RACE 1 HIGHLIGHTS

SATURDAY: EVERYTHING GETS RESET

Coming into COTA, DiBrino held the advantage with 168 points to Kornbau's 163. But there wasn't much separating the BPR Racing Yamaha duo once they hit the track.

DiBrino led the opening four laps of Saturday's Race 1 before Kornbau made his first move to the front on lap five. DiBrino answered almost immediately, throwing down a 2:14.890 on lap six — the fastest lap of the race — and taking the lead back as the two headed toward the final lap.

Kornbau wasn't finished.

Starting the last lap just over a quarter of a second behind, he stayed glued to DiBrino and found enough to turn the deficit around before the checkered flag. After seven laps of COTA, Kornbau crossed the line just 0.146 seconds ahead of his teammate.

Behind them, defending champion James Rispoli put the Saddlemen Race Development Harley-Davidson on the podium in third, with teammate Jake Lewis right behind in fourth. Gus Rodio finished fifth, ending his championship hopes and leaving the title to the two BPR Yamahas.

The biggest result of Saturday wasn't just the win.

Kornbau and DiBrino were now tied at 188 points apiece.

After an entire season, the championship had effectively been reduced to one final race.

Race 1 — Saturday

🥇 1st — #74 Bryce Kornbau BPR Racing Yamaha

🥈 2nd — #62 Andy DiBrino BPR Racing Yamaha

🥉 3rd — #1 James Rispoli Saddlemen Race Development

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Motul keeps the Super Hooligan paddock running at full send, delivering the high-performance oils, lubricants, and maintenance products teams rely on when race weekends get hot, fast, and unforgiving.

Big thanks to Motul for supporting the series and helping keep the bikes sharp, reliable, and ready to battle every time they hit the track.

SHOP MOTUL

SUNDAY: WINNER TAKES ALL


There was no points calculator needed on Sunday.

Finish ahead of the other guy and become the 2026 Mission Super Hooligan National Champion.

DiBrino started from pole and wasted no time getting to the front, leading Kornbau and Rodio into the opening laps. Rodio stayed with the pair early before a mistake dropped him back through the field and a later crash forced him into recovery mode. He would remount and finish ninth.

That left DiBrino and Kornbau alone at the front.

And they stayed almost impossibly close.

DiBrino led at the end of each of the first six laps, but the gap between the two Yamahas never grew beyond two-tenths of a second at the start/finish line. As they took the white flag, just 0.185 seconds separated them.

One lap.

One championship.

Kornbau stayed in DiBrino's draft through Turn 11 and got the run he needed onto COTA's massive back straight. The two BPR Yamahas lined up side-by-side heading toward Turn 12, DiBrino protecting the inside while Kornbau committed to the outside.

Both riders went deep on the brakes.

Kornbau went deeper.

He got the bike turned, emerged from Turn 12 in front and held the lead through the final stadium section and onto the front straight.

After leading every lap except the one that mattered most, DiBrino crossed the line 1.608 seconds behind.

Bryce Kornbau was the 2026 Mission Super Hooligan National Champion.


Race 2 — Sunday

🥇 1st — #74 Bryce Kornbau BPR Racing Yamaha

🥈 2nd — #62 Andy DiBrino BPR Racing Yamaha

🥉 3rd — #92 Jason Waters TopPro Motorsports / Edge Racing

VIEW SHNC STANDINGS

A COTA SWEEP AND A CHAMPIONSHIP

Kornbau's two victories at COTA completed an incredible turnaround.

He arrived in Austin five points behind.

He left five points ahead.

The final championship standings put Kornbau on 213 points, DiBrino second with 208, and Rodio third with 167. James Rispoli finished the season fourth for Saddlemen Race Development with 131, while Jake Lewis completed the championship top five with 122.

Jason Waters also delivered one of the weekend's standout performances in Sunday's finale, edging Ben Gloddy by just 0.037 seconds to take third and score his first career MotoAmerica podium. Jake Lewis brought the Saddlemen machine home fifth, while ARCH Motorcycle Racing's Michael Gilbert finished sixth.

ONE HELL OF A SEASON

The final numbers tell you who won the championship, but they don't tell the whole story.

The 2026 Super Hooligan season delivered exactly what this championship was created for: different motorcycles, different ideas and riders willing to throw all of it at each other every time the green flag dropped.

Daytona brought massive drafting battles. Barber shook up the early championship picture. The Ridge and Laguna Seca pushed new riders and machines to the front. Mid-Ohio turned Kornbau and DiBrino's season-long fight into a five-point showdown.

And COTA finished it with two teammates running side-by-side into one of the hardest braking zones on the calendar with a national championship hanging in the balance.

You couldn't script it much better.

Bryce Kornbau leaves Texas with the #1 plate.

Andy DiBrino leaves knowing he came within one corner of taking it himself.

And the rest of us leave already wondering what happens when the Hooligans line up again.

That's a wrap on 2026.

Congratulations to Bryce Kornbau and the entire BPR Racing Yamaha team — your 2026 Mission Super Hooligan National Champions.

VIEW SHNC RACE SCHEDULE

Bell Helmets continue to play a critical role in protecting Super Hooligan riders like #62 Andy DiBrino, where every race means high-speed battles, hard braking zones, and the constant risk that comes with pushing big bikes to the limit.

SHOP BELL HELMETS

COTA SUPERHOOLIGAN - RACE 2 HIGHLIGHTS

Dymag Wheels: Race-Proven Performance

In a class where every pound matters, Dymag wheels help Super Hooligan teams push harder, turn sharper, and accelerate faster. With lightweight construction and decades of race-proven engineering, Dymag continues to support the machines and riders driving the front of the field.

SHOP DYMAG RACE WHEELS

“I decided to take my chances on the last lap to make that pass.”

— Bryce Kornbau, BPR Racing Yamaha on his win for race 2 and the championship

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CPI Stem Cells – Healing the Riders

Super Hooligan racing is fast, aggressive, and hard on the body. Between the crashes, training, and constant travel, riders put themselves through a lot during a race season—which is why recovery matters just as much as performance.

Based just outside San Diego in Tijuana, Mexico, CPI has built a reputation as one of the leading stem cell treatment facilities in the world, helping athletes and patients recover from injuries and get back to doing what they love.

As Roland puts it:

“I want to give a shout out to one of our new sponsors, CPI Stem Cells. These guys are the number one stem cell facility really in the world… This is where the healing gets done.

All of us road racers and motorcycle riders get a little injured sometimes. When it comes down to healing, CPI really knocks it out of the park getting you back to where you need to be. I feel about ten years younger after my treatment.”

CPI-Stem-Cells

From racers to riders to everyday athletes, CPI focuses on helping people recover faster and return stronger—something every motorcycle racer can appreciate after a long weekend at the track.

VISIT CPI STEM CELLS

WATCH HOOLIGANS: THE ARCH RACING PROJECT ON SAMSUNG TV NETWORK

Hooligans: The ARCH Racing Project with Keanu Reeves & Gard Hollinger, debuting Sunday, July 12 at 9PM ET in the US on Samsung TV Network (STN), the service’s flagship channel. The action-packed six-part docuseries is executive produced by and stars Reeves and Hollinger, with new episodes premiering every Sunday through August 16.

How to Watch:

  • Samsung Smart TV (2016 and newer): The service is pre-installed; simply navigate to the Samsung TV Plus app in your TV's menu. 
  • Mobile & Web: You can also watch or cast it on the go via the Samsung TV Plus website or supported Galaxy mobile devices.
WATCH THE TRAILER