Albert Arenas put on a masterclass at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto on Saturday afternoon, claiming his fourth win of a remarkable rookie campaign during the final round of the 2026 FIM Supersport World Championship. The newly crowned 2026 World Champion immediately seized the holeshot when the lights went out, though he certainly didn't have an easy afternoon out front.
Can Oncu made things properly difficult for the leader early on. After sliding into second off the line, the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing rider strung together a brilliant sequence of laps to snatch the lead away at Turn 6 on Lap 3. But Arenas hit right back at Turn 1 on the very next lap, proving neither machine was willing to cede an inch. The AS BLU CRU Racing Team rider eventually stretched his legs once more, crossing the finish line to take the spoils while Jeremy Alcoba pulled off a stunning home charge.
Starting back in fifth on the grid, Alcoba languished outside the podium places for the first half of the race before launching a ferocious fightback. The Kawasaki WorldSSP Team sophomore picked his way past Tom Booth-Amos on Lap 11 to break into the top three, then steadily chipped away at Oncu's advantage. With a brilliant move at Turn 13 on Lap 15, the Spaniard secured second place, forcing Arenas to keep the hammer down all the way to the checkered flag and sealing his fifth consecutive podium. Oncu crossed the line in third to collect his eighth podium of the season and the 38th of his career, a result that keeps him fifth in all-time rostrums for the category.
Behind the podium battle, Tom Booth-Amos kept his composure to secure fourth place for PTR Triumph Factory Racing after an intense early scrap with his teammate. Dominique Aegerter converted his season-best grid position of fourth into a season-best fifth-place finish for the Kawasaki WorldSSP Team, improving upon his sixth at Assen. Sporting a fresh helmet design, Matteo Ferrari brought his WRP Racing machine home in sixth, finishing just over a quarter of a second behind the Swiss rider.
Jorge Navarro looked frighteningly fast early on after a disastrous debut weekend at Estoril, even setting the fastest lap of the race at 1'42.053s. But after an intense intra-team battle, he ran wide at Turn 6 on Lap 6 and slipped down to seventh to salvage his first points of 2026. Filippo Farioli continued his strong second half of the year by taking eighth for VFT Racing Yamaha, while Alessandro Zaccone got the better of Valentin Debise on Lap 12 to round out the top ten for Ecosantagata Althea Racing Team, leaving the EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing rider in tenth.
Unfortunately, the day wasn't without its casualties. Simon Jespersen and Eric Fernandez suffered a heavy tangle at Turn 13 on the opening lap, resulting in a trip to the medical centre for Jespersen where he was diagnosed with a dislocated right shoulder. Yuki Okamoto also saw his Saturday cut short after crashing his Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing machine at Turn 11 on Lap 3.
