Having previously competed in the Italian Superstock Championship, the Italian Supersport Championship, and the Superstock 600 UEM European Championship – where he finished runner-up in 2006 – Canepa won the 2007 Superstock 1000 F.I.M. Cup championship on a Ducati, and spent 2008 as a tester of their MotoGP and World Superbike machines.
He was given three World Superbike wild card rides in the second half of the 2008, qualifying on the second row for his debut at Brno, on his first experience of the one-shot "Superpole" system.
He raced in MotoGP full-time for Pramac Ducati in 2009 with little success, and made an uncompetitive start in Moto2.
He moved back to the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup in 2011, and after a season in the Superbike World Championship in 2012, returned to Superstock 1000 in 2013 and became runner up behind Sylvain Barrier
Niccolò moved in 2016 to the World Endurance Championship riding the Factory GMT94 Yamaha R1.
He ended the season in second place.

In 2017 Niccolò won the World Endurance Championship.
He is the first Italian in history to win an Endurance World Championship.
He is also the Yamaha Superbike Factory Team test rider and replacement rider.
He is also coaching Alex Lowes and Michael Van Der Mark during the Superbike World Championship.
Having previously competed in the Italian Superstock Championship, the Italian Supersport Championship, and the Superstock 600 UEM European Championship – where he finished runner-up in 2006 – Canepa won the 2007 Superstock 1000 F.I.M. Cup championship on a Ducati, and spent 2008 as a tester of their MotoGP and World Superbike machines. He was given three World Superbike wild card rides in the second half of the 2008, qualifying on the second row for his debut at Brno, on his first experience of the one-shot "Superpole" system. He raced in MotoGP full-time for Pramac Ducati in 2009 with little success, and made an uncompetitive start in Moto2. He moved back to the Superstock 1000 FIM Cup in 2011, and after a season in the Superbike World Championship in 2012, returned to Superstock 1000 in 2013 and became runner up behind Sylvain Barrier
Niccolò moved in 2016 to the World Endurance Championship riding the Factory GMT94 Yamaha R1. He ended the season in second place.
In 2017 Niccolò won the World Endurance Championship. He is the first Italian in history to win an Endurance World Championship. He is also the Yamaha Superbike Factory Team test rider and replacement rider. He is also coaching Alex Lowes and Michael Van Der Mark during the Superbike World Championship.
Niccolò Canepa