Supersport Misano: Sublime Albert Arenas—Is Race 2 the World Championship turning point?

Albert Arenas dominates Supersport Race 2 and, taking advantage of the lackluster form of his pursuers, lands a solid blow to the Championship. There are 5 rounds left (10 races, 250 points), so it’s early to talk about a lock, but the feeling is that the Spaniard is already well on his way.

The last-lap defeat at the hands of a rampant Valentin Debise left a bitter taste in the Spaniard’s mouth. “Second place wasn’t bad for the championship, but I wanted to win, that’s why I tried a surprise overtake at the last corner,” Albert Arenas explained. That’s the mindset of a 30-year-old rider who made his mark in Grand Prix racing, winning a Moto3 World Championship. No sooner said than done. In the rematch he was flawless, breaking away and leaving Jaume Masia (Ducati) and Debise himself (ZXMoto) at the mercy of the group. With his third triumph in this new Supersport adventure, he extends his lead to +58 points over the Frenchman in the standings.

In 2025 the Yamaha YZF-R9 won on debut and at this stage of the season is reaffirming its potential. The Chinese ZXMoto flexed its muscles in Race 1, claiming its sixth win of ’26. But the rival is more consistent, especially in the hands of a metronome like Arenas. In the early laps it was Indonesian Aldi Mahendra who kept the runaway’s pace, then the Southeast Asian talent faded, which was understandable given that only last month he had the plates removed from his wrists after last year’s crash. Tom Booth-Amos took advantage, wrapping up the effort with a brilliant second place. When he doesn’t crash, the Brit is always up front with the best.

Jaume Masia is the only Ducati rider in the title fight, but on Borgo Panigale’s home track he lost a lot of ground to Arenas. Fourth place isn’t enough to keep pace with a rider as fast and consistent as Arenas. It went worse for Valentin Debise, relegated to ninth by a ZXMoto that couldn’t fly like it did in the previous race. Ups and downs are understandable, given that the Chinese bike, developed and managed by the very Italian Evan Bros squad, has only contested seven World Championship rounds.

Mattia Casadei with the DG34 Ducati of Davide Giugliano and Matteo Ferrari with the WRP Ducati were once again the spearheads of the Italian contingent. The positions are encouraging—sixth and seventh. There remains the regret of having been overtaken at the end by Jeremy Alcoba. The Spaniard gave Team Puccetti its first joy of 2026, after they placed a big bet on the Kawasaki 636. So far Akashi’s little one has been somewhat absent from the party—will Misano be the turning point?

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