Supersport: at Donington it’s everyone against Arenas—he wants to extend his lead, rivals on the attack

In SSP there are plenty of great races, with the rider who came from Moto2 taking the lead and looking to consolidate it. But there are those in England who will try to cut the gap in the standings.

While Superbike is being monopolized by Ducati, particularly by Nicolò Bulega, Supersport is delivering more spectacular and hard-fought rounds. The rider standing out the most is Albert Arenas, left without a Moto2 seat after the 2025 season and deciding to relaunch himself in the WorldSBK paddock. A spot-on choice, given that he is currently leading the standings with 251 points.

The Spaniard from the AS BLU CRU Racing Team has taken 3 wins and 8 other podiums, plus 2 pole positions. From the start he found feeling, speed, and results with the Yamaha R9 and has everything it takes to be crowned the 2026 SSP world champion.

In the last four races he finished second three times and won once (Race 2 at Misano), so he’s in excellent form. At next weekend’s round at Donington Park Circuit (HERE the schedule) he will arrive with a 56-point lead over Valentine Debise (195), who between Aragon and Misano collected one win, two eighths, and a ninth place. The French rider of the ZXMOTO Factory Evan Bros Racing team fully intends to reduce the gap to his rival, who in turn will try to extend his margin even further.

Clearly, in the title fight Jaume Masia (179 points) on the Ducati of the Orelac Racing Verdnatura team and Can Oncu (159) on the Yamaha of the Pata Yamaha Ten Kate Racing team are not out of contention either. Unlike his main rivals, Arenas has never raced at Donington Park, so he could be vulnerable and drop some points. It’s not a given, since with the level he has shown in 2026 he could still come out on top. At the same time, he will need to be smart and avoid mistakes, since he has a decent lead in the standings and it wouldn’t make sense to take risks. He will also need to manage things if he doesn’t find himself with race-winning potential.

Arenas wants to win the Supersport title also to put himself forward for a move to Superbike. Doing so with Yamaha would be the natural step, but three out of four seats are already taken. Andrea Locatelli (Pata Maxus), Stefano Manzi (GYTR GRT), and Remy Gardner (GYTR GRT) have contracts for 2027. The only one without is Xavi Vierge, who is still fairly well regarded by Yamaha. The Motoxracing team also fields R1s, but the technical package and results are not on par with the other two squads, so it’s not realistic to think the Supersport leader would move to the box run by Sandro Carusi.

Clearly, Arenas will also consider other manufacturers if the right offers come in. The risk of remaining in SSP still exists, also because there are riders leaving MotoGP who could snap up the best available seats in SBK.

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