Supersport Cremona: Kawasaki flexes its muscles, Jeremy Alcoba shuts the door in Race 1

Three years later Kawasaki roars back in Supersport, winning Race 1 of the Cremona round with a highly determined Jeremy Alcoba. Celebrating alongside the Spanish rider is the Puccetti team, which has finally brought the 632 cc Ninja to the top. Albert Arenas, however, wins even when he doesn’t: second place is worth gold for Yamaha in the World Championship picture.

Alcoba versus Arenas is a tense story that began at the previous Magny-Cours round, with a clash that could have had serious consequences, especially for the former Moto2 rider’s championship. On the second lap Jeremy dove around the outside into the heaviest braking zone on the track, risking a touch on his rival’s front end—disaster avoided by a whisker. At that point Arenas realized it wasn’t worth jeopardizing a crucial finish against such a determined opponent. The race was effectively decided there.

Kawasaki’s last win came at Mandalika, Indonesia, with Can Oncu. It feels like ages ago, but the real game-changer has been the introduction of the enlarged Kawasaki, which has allowed the Puccetti team to get back in the fight for top positions after some tough seasons. This Race 1 in Lombardy, however, also allowed Yamaha to take another substantial step toward the R9’s back-to-back world title, following Stefano Manzi’s 2025 triumph. In the finale, in fact, Arenas managed to snatch second place from Filippo Farioli, gaining another seven points while chasing Valentin Debise, who finished fourth. The lead is now 77 points, with only five races left to go.

In Supersport, Italian teams lay down the law, to the point that the top four in this Race 1 are run by domestic outfits. In terms of riders, however—after Bulega and Manzi moved up to the top class—we’re a bit short. That’s why Farioli’s podium should be greeted with great satisfaction, also because looking ahead to 2027 the former Moto3 rider could be one to watch closely. On this occasion, though, ZXMoto didn’t roar, despite the support from the grandstands where 200 employees invited to this round by patron Zhang Xue were packed in. On this track, the excellent Valentin Debise still hasn’t found the magic formula to keep pace with the Japanese bikes. But there’s a looming Race 2 for a rematch in the East-versus-East showdown.

Photo by Dani Guazzetti

-> Follow us on Instagram: @Corsedimoto