Kawasaki’s Supersport ambition: Alcoba and Aegerter motivated by a special prize

The 2025 Supersport World Championship was a Yamaha R9 solo with only rare incursions by Ducati and MV Agusta. However, towards the end of the season the Kawasaki 636 raised its game, and with the arrival of former world champion Dominique Aegerter it’s now thinking big.

The Puccetti team, Kawasaki’s factory satellite in the junior series, managed to convince the Swiss rider to retrace his steps to relaunch a career that risked stalling after three disappointing Superbike seasons: his best final result was eighth in 2023. In Supersport, on the other hand, he was the king in 2021-22, winning 27 races out of 44 contested. He rode the Yamaha, already champion the year before with Andrea Locatelli, and managed by the same outfit, Ravenna-based Evan Bros. So the Swiss rider inherited a winning package. With Kawasaki, however, there will be a need to lead development to raise the level.

Approaching 35 years of age, Dominique Aegerter has no time to waste. Manuel Puccetti is absolutely convinced he’s found the missing ace to finally get the 636 project off the ground. The optimism is justified by technical factors. “Jeremy Alcoba is a very fast rider, he showed it at the end of the season, but with us he started with a handicap,” explains the boss of the Reggio Emilia-based team. “He had fractured his hand at the tail end of his Moto2 stint and climbed onto the Kawasaki in precarious physical condition. We arrived at the Phillip Island debut with him having covered maybe 300 kilometers on the 636. That’s one of the reasons why we started slowly.”

And the other motivation? “It’s technical: because of Alcoba’s injury we found ourselves defining the dimensions of the triple clamps only in Australia, and lacking references we homologated the solution that seemed most appropriate. We’re talking about a fundamental component for the bike’s setup and competitiveness. This time, however, we’ll start much better prepared: here we’re testing clamps, pivot and offset to find the best balance. I’m sure you’ll see a much more competitive Kawasaki 636 on track compared to last season. The riders will take care of the rest: Alcoba is very strong, Aegerter is a double World Champion.”

Both riders have in their contracts, in addition to a substantial bonus scheme, various options regarding a guaranteed move to Superbike in 2027, via a series of reward tests provided by the Akashi manufacturer as early as next summer, obviously if Dominique and Jeremy hit certain targets. Next season Kawasaki will launch an extremely revamped Ninja Superbike. “In the coming days I’ll be at the race department to see what’s cooking; the Japanese know that in 2027 I want to field two riders in Superbike. That’s why we decided to particularly motivate our two spearheads in Supersport.” Between Dominique and Jeremy, even the in-house battle will be red hot.