What a stunning statement from Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team).
After surprising everyone with his Friday pace, the Spaniard proved it was no fluke by outgunning Championship leader Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) and Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing) to claim his maiden WorldSSP win. This marks Alcoba's first World Championship victory since the Moto3 Junior class at Valencia in 2019. It is a massive result for the #52 machine, who is fighting hard for a seat after the team announced Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) will join David Salvador (Team ProDina Kawasaki XCI) at the Kawasaki WorldSSP Team for next season.
The race itself was wild from the start. Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing) grabbed early control at Turn 1, though Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) soon wrestled the lead away in the opening sector. As the lead trio headed into Lap 2, chaos struck at Turn 7 when Roberto Garcia (GMT94 Yamaha) and Simon Jespersen (EAB Racing Team) crashed, scattering gravel across the track and bringing out the red flag. Following a grid reset to the original configuration—though Roberto Garcia was forced to start from the back after missing the pit lane exit—Alcoba wasted zero time. On the second lap, the #52 sliced across the nose of Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) at Turn 11 to take the lead.
Alcoba stretched his advantage to roughly half a second, but Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) bit back as the laps ticked down, closing to within a quarter of a second with five to go. Three laps later, the championship leader squeezed his way past Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing) in a razor-thin gap between the #7 machine and the trackside grass, braking late in the final sector to steal P2. At the checkered flag, Jeremy Alcoba (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) crossed first, followed by Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) at +0.568s and Filippo Farioli (VFT Racing Yamaha) at +0.688s. Albert Arenas (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) now holds a 77-point lead and has a slim chance to clinch the Riders' Championship in Race 2 if he wins and Valentin Debise scores zero points.
Behind the podium battle, plenty of drama unfolded over the shortened 13-lap distance. Can Oncu (Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing) suffered a frustrating DNF on Lap 5 after losing the front exiting Turn 2 while running in P4. That misfortune handed the position to Valentin Debise (EASTROC ZXMOTO Evan Bros Factory), who methodically closed in on the podium contenders and missed out on the top three by just over a hundredth with a +0.822s gap. Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) clawed his way up from P9 on the grid to finish P5 at +3.761s, setting a new lap record of 1’31.822s along the way. Matteo Ferrari (WRP Racing) enjoyed a proud home run to take P6 from tenth on the grid at +7.096s.
Further down the order, Jaume Masia (Orelac Racing VerdNatura) slipped three positions to finish P7, fending off Mattia Casadei (D34G WorldSSP Racing Team) by less than a quarter of a second. Dominique Aegerter (Kawasaki WorldSSP Team) placed ninth to give the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R 636 two bikes inside the top ten, while Aldi Mahendra (AS BLU CRU Racing Team) completed the top ten after charging up from a P19 grid start. Meanwhile, Oli Bayliss (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) crashed out on Lap 1 at Turn 4, Simon Jespersen suffered a technical issue on Lap 2 at Turn 8, Alessandro Zaccone crashed from P6 at Turn 10 on Lap 7, and Lucas Mahias (GMT94 Yamaha) went off into the gravel at Turn 3.
With Tom Booth-Amos (PTR Triumph Factory Racing) securing pole position for Sunday after his strong showing, the stage is set for the final race of the round at Cremona.
