Warpspeed Advances on Three Fronts for 2026

words and photos by Ivan Sansom and Rose Hughes

A recent excursion provided an opportunity to catch up with Stuart Crane at the Warpspeed base in rural Norfolk, England, and discuss off-season updates and prospects for 2026.

“So for the 2026 season we are going to be a 3-bike team consisting of 3 turbo funny bikes, myself and Mark Smith as usual, and [Malta’s] Gabriel Briffa’s bike with Luke Farrugia riding. My bike has received upgrades to the turbo system to increase airflow, along with the debut of our custom-built billet crankcases [which are works of art]. I will be looking to try and run a 6.05 to beat the current world record held in the USA.

Mark’s bike has just had a complete motor refresh and is carrying on where he left off in the 2025 season and is hoping to aim for 6.3’s this season for the Draper Tools entry.

Gabriel’s bike is a completely new setup for Luke, as this is his first time on a big tire bike [previously focusing on Super Street Bike]. The bike has had a major upgrade in the engine department, it’s been upgraded from the traditional GS engine platform to a Warpspeed racing GSX platform. We have also done extensive chassis modifications and a complete rear end combination, including a new rear wheel.

The bike also has received one of our turbo systems. Testing at the Festival of Power [Santa Pod’s domestic season opener at Easter] went well, delivering personal bests at every increment. We are looking to run times in the region of low sixes for the rest of the year and it will be an interesting comparison to see how much the weight of the rider will impact on the setup!”

Rightly proud of the billet jewel he’s been working on for a few years now, Crane has attracted a lot of attention on both sides of the Atlantic and will have a lot of eyes on him and the rest of the Anglo-Maltese team as they embark on testing in a few weeks’ time. With 6.0s seemingly within touching distance and Crane’s European best of 6.17 set in September last year, the nitro-fuelled competitors will be nervous about the triple turbo threat presented by the Warpspeed funnies in FIM-E Top Fuel Bike.

FIM-E Schedule 2026

May 22-25, Main Event, Santa Pod Raceway, England
August 6-9, Summit Racing Equipment Internationals, Tierp Arena, Sweden
August 21-23, NitrOlympX, Hockenheimring, Germany
September 10-13, Euro Finals, Santa Pod Raceway, England