Here's the thing about momentum in racing: when a rider finds it, they can make an entire paddock take notice. Spanish rider Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) did exactly that at the Cremona Circuit, putting on a brilliant display to secure an emphatic maiden FIM Supersport World Championship double at the EICMA Italian Round. Hunting for a 2027 seat amidst a massive upswing in form over the recent rounds—including a first podium of the season two rounds ago at Donington Park—he added his first WorldSSP pole and two breathtaking wins to his resume. With only two rounds left at Estoril and Jerez, his stock is rising fast.
The weekend started with a piece of history in the Tissot Superpole session. Alcoba delivered a stunning 1’31.259s lap to snatch his maiden pole position from two-time 2026 polesitter Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) by just 0.057s. That single lap ended a painful dry spell, marking Kawasaki’s first pole in the class since Philipp Oettl (Feel Racing WorldSSP Team) took the honors at Jerez back in 2021.
Race 1 brought its own drama with a restart, where the #52 found himself shuffled back to third behind Arenas and Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing) on the opening lap. But Alcoba wasted no time clawing back to second before the lap was done, and on Lap 2, he pulled off a gorgeous move around the outside of the #75 at Turn 11 to grab the lead. Despite Arenas pushing hard to fight back, Alcoba held firm to secure his first WorldSSP win and Kawasaki's first victory in the category since Indonesia 2023. Reflecting on the team's home triumph, he noted the parallel to MotoGP: “It feels amazing because I’m not in a good moment of my career as I’m looking for something for next year. I’m focusing on myself and I’ve been riding that wave this weekend. I’ve felt natural since the first moment here, Even the start here Ithink was one of my best starts even with what may have been a more nervous position as I was starting from pole. I was in second until I saw my opportunity, I passed for P1. It was a little like what some of the riders have been doing in MotoGP, a first win at the team’s home round after a long time. So I’m quite happy.”
Sunday brought new challenges as the rest of the grid made overnight improvements. Starting from P2 behind Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing), Alcoba tumbled as low as fifth on the opening lap. But the green machine soon found its rhythm. He outbraked Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing) into Turn 11 on Lap 4, then stripped third place away from Farioli on Lap 5. Patiently studying the leaders for nine laps, he struck once more at Turn 11 to pass Booth-Amos. He measured the pace and held off the #75 to cross the finish line nearly half a second faster, capping off his finest weekend in the championship to date.
The celebrations were understandably wild, though the winner had to pace himself. Alcoba admitted after his second triumph: “I lost my voice on Saturday after Race 1! On Sunday I needed to control myself in the celebrations because if not, Sunday night or Monday I’d have no voice. But I'm really happy; I felt really good on Friday, so I expected to do well. Riders always take Race 2 more personally than Race 1, so I was a bit nervous. I was trying to control myself a lot and focus. I knew the other riders would improve from yesterday. I was struggling a bit after seven Laps in Race 1, so on Sunday I decided to be smarter and smoother. I was feeling fast and smooth.”
