Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) pulled off an absolute stunner during Friday's Tissot Superpole at the Cremona Circuit, storming to his first career WorldSSP pole and handing Kawasaki their first top spot in qualifying since 2021. Riding with a head full of steam after his team announced they won't be continuing their collaboration next season, Alcoba initially set a record-shattering pace with 28 minutes remaining only to watch that lap get deleted for a track limits violation. Undeterred, he struck again when it mattered most, clocking a blistering 1’31.259s with just two minutes left on the clock. It is a massive turnaround from his P16 Superpole result at this venue last year.
Right behind him, Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) put himself in prime position to strike early in Race 1 and close out the title race. Arenas briefly grabbed provisional pole with a 1’31.316s lap with seven minutes remaining, and while he was bested in the dying moments, securing P2 on the grid leaves him well-placed for Saturday. Meanwhile, Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing) continued his strong upward trajectory. After grabbing a personal best P6 in Race 2 at Magny-Cours, the Yamaha rider bagged a career-best Friday result by claiming P3 in the Superpole session, finishing just 0.171s off the ultimate pace.
Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) anchored the head of the second row in P4, setting a 1’31.437s time that marked his best Friday performance since Phillip Island. Alessandro Zaccone (Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team) delighted the home crowd by taking P5, matching the best starting position of his WorldSSP career. Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) also enjoyed a brief stint at the sharp end before tumbling down the order as the times dropped, ultimately settling for P6, just under four tenths off Alcoba's benchmark.
Further down the top ten, Ondrej Vostatek (Compos Racing Team) tied the best Superpole performance of his five-year WorldSSP career by grabbing P7 with a 1’31.650s lap. Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) found some late momentum after lingering down the order—even sitting P1 with roughly 17 minutes left—before being pushed back to P8. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) locked down P9 for the second consecutive round, finishing a razor-thin two thousandths behind Debise. Matteo Ferrari (WRP Racing) fired on all cylinders early on, topping the charts for the majority of the first half-hour before slipping to P10 with a 1’31.681s lap as track evolution took over.
Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) rounded out the immediate storylines, returning to WorldSSP action at Cremona after a summer break injury sustained while riding in British Superbike forced him to miss Magny-Cours. He slotted straight back into P11. With the grid locked in and Alcoba leading the way from Arenas and Farioli, the stage is officially set for Race 1 on Saturday at 14:00 local time (UTC +2).
